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

5. Scottish Government Consultations

The 2021-2022 Programme included commitments for consultations on proposals to improve animal transport legislation, and phase out cages for gamebirds and laying hens, and farrowing crates for pigs. With the exception of farrowing crates, these topics were reiterated in the 2023-2024 Programme.

A consultation on phasing out cages for laying hens ran from 2 April to 25 June 2024. SAWC supported the proposals for a full ban on enriched cages in Scotland across the laying hen sector, but argued for a phase-in period shorter than the proposed 10 years, if possible.

A call for evidence on housing systems in use for gamebirds and quail in Scotland ran from 22 April to 12 July 2024.

Licensing of activities involving animals

A consultation on legislation to extend the framework for licensing activities involving animals was launched in July 2023, covering dog walking, dog grooming, canine fertility clinics, greyhound racing, animal boarding and equine establishments. The analysis of consultation responses was published in February 2024 and indicated strong support from animal welfare stakeholders for most of the proposals, although there were divided views on the licensing of greyhound racing in Scotland. Many respondents, including SAWC, expressed concerns about the capacity of local authorities to resource enforcement of further licensing controls, and these were acknowledged in the Scottish Government analysis, which noted:

"Those raising these concerns commented that enforcement of existing legislation is already lacking due to many councils redirecting resource to higher priority areas. It was recognised by many that local authorities are under significant pressure and that without additional resource (staff and training) enforcement would, at best, be patchy."

An issue of particular concern covered in the consultation was the growth of the canine fertility clinic industry in Scotland and across the UK. SAWC noted in its response that some clinics appear to be offering services that should, under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, only be performed by qualified veterinary surgeons, with no indication that these services are actually being performed by veterinarians. SAWC supports Scottish Government proposals to take steps to regulate these businesses, which are known to pose risks to animal welfare as well as fuelling the trade in dogs with extreme conformation.

Further consultation on performing animals and other "animal experiences" is expected in 2024/25.

National Good Food Nation Plan

The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 requires the Scottish Ministers to publish a national Good Food Nation Plan and to have regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to a number of matters of public interest, including animal welfare and the natural environment.

In January 2024, the first Good Food Nation Plan was published, containing six Outcomes, along with a consultation on proposed targets and indicators to measure progress on the Outcomes. SAWC supported the Outcomes for the benefits they offer to people in Scotland, while believing that there is scope for greater ambition for animal welfare within the targets and indicators. SAWC welcomed the inclusion of animal welfare in Outcome 2, which relates to a sustainable food system, but suggested adding a further target that all farmed animals in Scotland have a life worth living, with as many as possible enjoying a good life. This draws on the approach long advocated by the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) (now the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC)). In our response to the consultation, we stated:

"Ethically, there can be no justification for breeding any animal, least of all an animal intended to provide food for humans, that is not destined to have a life worth living."

We also suggested that animal welfare should be referenced in the targets and indicators for other Outcomes, including Outcome 4 on the health of the food sector and Outcome 6 which includes "high-quality food".

SAWC is aware that work is now underway to include animal welfare targets in the Plan, although specific targets are being delayed for future iterations of the Plan .

With regard to the proposed indicators, we suggested that progressing consultations on phasing out cages for gamebirds and laying hens, phasing out farrowing crates for pigs, the castration and tail-docking of lambs, and the slaughter of farmed fish could be framed within a specific animal welfare indicator.

National Outcomes

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 requires Scottish Ministers to continue setting National Outcomes for Scotland, which guide the work of public authorities.

The Scottish Ministers must develop and publish a set of National Outcomes, following consultation with community representatives and the Scottish Parliament. Public authorities and other organisations that carry out public functions must have regard to the National Outcomes in carrying out their devolved functions. In May 2024, the Scottish Government laid proposals for revised National Outcomes before the Finance and Public Administration Committee of the Scottish Parliament, which, in turn, called for stakeholder views.

Responding to this consultation, SAWC suggested that the National Outcomes should take account of the welfare needs of sentient animals in Scotland and should contain content specific to those matters. We argued that it is not ethically justified to consider human wellbeing in isolation from that of non-human animals, who are affected by our use of animals, our behaviour, our presence and our impact on the shared environment.

Additionally, on a practical level, the interactions between human and non-human animal health and welfare are known to have both positive and negative effects on both sectors. One example of these interactions is the spread of zoonotic diseases such as various types of influenza and coronavirus. Another is the risk to human and animal health caused by antimicrobial resistance, which is related to widespread use of antibiotics to treat animal health and welfare conditions arising in intensive farming systems. More positively, animals enhance human wellbeing through companionship and observation of wildlife behaviour.

SAWC has suggested a proposed new National Outcome, to be developed for the next five-year review or future legislation, along the lines of:

Animal Welfare: We care appropriately for the farmed, companion, working and wild animals with whom we share our environment and recognise that their welfare is intrinsically connected to ours.

Fairer food labelling

A joint UK consultation on country of origin and method of production labelling for food produced from pigs, meat chickens and laying hens ran from 12 March to 7 May 2024. In its response, SAWC stressed that

"In our opinion an important factor in any animal-origin food is the life the animal had before it was killed, and its welfare at slaughter. Even within the UK there is variation in methods of production (caged, free range, etc.) which can be an important influencing factor in allowing consumers to express choice about animal welfare for the products they consume. Labels need to provide sufficient information for consumers to make informed choices about animal welfare, and to be aware of the impact of their choice on farm production methods. This also allows farmers to achieve a fair price for working to provide higher welfare standards and to provide farmed animals with a good life. Without suitable labelling this goal can be overlooked and not properly rewarded."

Acknowledging that pigs, meat chickens and laying hens arguably have some of the most restrictive housing and production environments, with the greatest impacts on welfare, SAWC noted that other farmed species (dairy cows, farmed fish, farmed beef cattle and sheep) also experience poor welfare and it would be more consistent to consider all these species equally.

"For example, the fact that 30% of dairy cows are lame at any one time is a very significant cause of welfare concern and can be partially mitigated by improved housing management. Why this information would not be conveyed to a consumer to express informed choices is not clear."

Scottish Government and Food Standards Scotland officials have been engaging with DEFRA during this period, and policy officials from across the four UK nations are considering the responses.

Scottish Biodiversity Strategy

In September 2023, in line with the one of the 2023-2024 Programme commitments, a consultation was published seeking views on a range of topics and proposals related to biodiversity and tackling the nature emergency in Scotland. It covered aspects of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and associated five-year Delivery Plan, as well as the proposed Natural Environment Bill to provide a framework for establishing statutory nature targets.

Deer management

In January 2024, the Scottish Government consulted on proposals for Managing Deer for Climate and Nature, including the establishment of Deer Management Nature Restoration Orders (DMNRO), in furtherance of some of the legislative recommendations of the Deer Management Working Group. The proposals included measures aimed at improving the welfare of deer subject to management by shooting, including basic competence standards and a relaxation of current requirements for specific authorisation of night shooting, driving deer and out-of-season shooting, and an associated Fit and Competent register.

SAWC supported a proposal for the user of a shotgun to shoot deer to require registration on the Fit & Competent Register as well as an individual authorisation from NatureScot. SAWC also submitted comments on the need for enhanced competence auditing for anyone shooting deer, including independent assessment of shooting accuracy, viewing the possession of DSC 1 plus one reference (the current situation) or simply by following Best Practice Guidance as alluded to in the consultation, as inadequate.

The analysis of responses and specific legislative proposals are awaited.