Scottish Animal Welfare Commission – Review of Scottish Government activity affecting the welfare of animals, as sentient beings

4. Members' Bills

Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Bill

The Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Bill was introduced in June 2023 and passed Stage 1 on 9 May 2024. This Member's Bill, lodged by Christine Grahame MSP, requires the Scottish Government to issue a statutory Code of Practice for buyers of puppies and give powers to introduce registration of litters of puppies before they are sold or transferred.

In its Stage 1 response to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee, SAWC supported the policy objectives of the Bill:

"to improve the health and wellbeing of dogs throughout their lives, by establishing a more responsible and informed approach to acquiring and owning a dog; and by making provision for the regulation of the selling or transferring of puppies from unlicensed litters".

SAWC noted that there was little reference to the process of acquiring a dog in the existing Scottish Government code of practice for the welfare of dogs and that there was potential for the new code, proposed by the Bill, to spell out the relevant considerations and steps to be taken before acquiring a dog. SAWC considered it undesirable for there to be more than one code of practice relating to dogs and recommended that the Scottish Ministers introduce a revised code under the combined authority of the 2006 Act and the Bill, once enacted.

The Scottish Government supported the principles of the Bill, but was not in favour of the registration sections of the Bill and at Stage 1 and the Member agreed to withdraw these. This was at variance with the view of SAWC, which commented:

"the present situation whereby the breeding of some puppies is regulated, while the breeding of others remains entirely unregulated, is confusing for the public, an invitation to the unscrupulous to avoid regulation, and hampers effective enforcement of the existing licensing provisions. In the interests of promoting traceability, transparency, and accountability – and thereby promoting better welfare – the Commission is strongly in favour of bringing all those who breed dogs within a scheme of regulation."

SAWC suggested that this might be achieved by extending the current arrangements for the licensing of dog breeders to include those registered under the proposed new system.

Proposed Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Scotland) Bill

A proposal for a Member's Bill to prohibit greyhound racing was lodged in February 2024 by Mark Ruskell MSP and the right to introduce a Bill was secured in June 2024. The Scottish Government has taken a neutral position on this Bill pending sight of a detailed draft. The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity has previously stated, in response to a Petition to the Scottish Parliament "PE1758 End greyhound racing In Scotland", that the Scottish Government remains to be convinced that complete prohibition would be proportionate. SAWC reported on the welfare issues surrounding greyhound racing in Scotland in 2023 and this report was extensively cited in the Member's consultation on his proposals.