Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 12 March 2020
12 Mar 2020 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I am pleased to lead the debate for the Scottish Conservatives, given that I am a member of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, which is overseeing the bill.
The Scottish Conservatives are supportive of the general principles of the bill. Indeed, three years ago, I had preliminary talks with officials about whether there was an opportunity to address many of the shortcomings that the bill will now address, including: increasing penalties for animal and wildlife crime; introducing new fixed-penalty notices; extending the time allowed for prosecution; giving more powers to authorities when animals are taken into possession to alleviate their suffering; and the very welcome move of increasing the protection of service animals through our own Scottish Finn’s law, which my colleague Liam Kerr has championed.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Ken Macintosh)
NPA
The next item of business is a stage 1 debate on motion S5M-21200, in the name of Mairi Gougeon, on the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powe...
The Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment (Mairi Gougeon)
SNP
I am delighted to present the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill to the chamber and to introduce these important propos...
Emma Harper (South Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the bill and the Scottish Government’s action to give enhanced protection from harm to animals and wildlife. The minister mentioned farm animals. ...
Mairi Gougeon
SNP
I thank Emma Harper for her intervention and congratulate her on all the work that she has done on tackling that important issue. I am happy to commit to mee...
Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Green
Will the Government introduce regulations on performance animals in the current session of Parliament?
Mairi Gougeon
SNP
I will look at that specific issue and will get back to the member on it. We also intend the new regulations to give effect to Lucy’s law—a measure to preve...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
I invite Gillian Martin to speak on behalf of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee. 15:03
Gillian Martin (Aberdeenshire East) (SNP)
SNP
On behalf of my colleagues on the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, I open by saying that we welcome the bill and support its aim to inc...
Finlay Carson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Con
I am pleased to lead the debate for the Scottish Conservatives, given that I am a member of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee, which ...
Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
As the member said, that is an excellent provision, which follows a huge campaign led by PC Wardell and so many others, with more than 56,000 signatures on m...
Finlay Carson
Con
I thank the member for that intervention. I agree, and we look forward to stage 2, when we will make sure that the bill fulfils everybody’s expectations of p...
Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
Scottish Labour robustly welcomes heavier sentences—of up to five years in prison and unlimited fines—for serious animal and wildlife crimes. We are supporti...
Colin Smyth (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
On the issue of enforcement, the bill proposes allowing animals to be rehomed without a court order, but does Claudia Beamish agree that one positive measure...
Claudia Beamish
Lab
I absolutely agree. The SSPCA has highlighted that animals can have to wait for a decision on their fate for weeks, months or sometimes years, so that is of ...
Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Green
I welcome the introduction of the bill to Parliament. The Greens will of course back its general principles at stage 1. As the convener of the Environment, C...
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
SNP
What evidence did the committee see that empathy training has any impact? The evidence seemed to be ambiguous.
Mark Ruskell
Green
That is the nature of the chicken-and-egg scenario that we are in. We have been unable to roll out empathy training in relation to animal cruelty despite the...
Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD)
LD
I am pleased to take part in this debate on the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill on behalf of the Scottish Liberal De...
Claudia Beamish
Lab
Will the member accept an intervention?
Liam McArthur
LD
Do I have time to take an intervention?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Oh, why not?
Claudia Beamish
Lab
Could the member explain why he is uneasy about the alteration of powers, especially in view of what Mark Ruskell said and of the fact that the SSPCA has sai...
Liam McArthur
LD
Claudia Beamish raises a legitimate question. I sympathise with some of the anomalies that Mark Ruskell has outlined, but I recall from the debates that we h...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
We move to the open debate. Please keep speeches to six minutes. I have a tiny bit of time in hand, but do not go overboard. 15:43
Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP)
SNP
I am pleased that the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill has been brought to the chamber. I thank OneKind, Battersea Do...
Maurice Golden (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
I have spent several years campaigning to improve animal welfare in Scotland, and there is much to welcome in the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protection...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I have a wee bit more time in hand now. If any members would like to offer or take interventions, I can allow time for that. 15:53
Colin Smyth (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I declare an interest, as I am a member of the League Against Cruel Sports, the deputy convener of the cross-party group on animal welfare and Scottish Envir...
Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the bill and the stage 1 report by our colleagues in the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee. I thought that the report was extre...
Rachael Hamilton (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Con
I thank the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee and its convener for all their hard work in putting together the recommendations that are s...