Hansard

I thank my colleague Christine Grahame for proposing the motion and the other colleagues who have contributed so ably to the debate. I also welcome to the Parliament many members of the cross-party group on animal welfare and, indeed, our four-legged friends Royal, Briar and Keira, who I understand are also in the gallery. Perhaps they will get a personal tour of the Parliament from Mr Q and they can catch up over a bowl of water later on.

Like Christine Grahame, I congratulate everyone who has contributed to the celebrating Scotland’s animals week stalls that are in Parliament this week. If anyone has not yet had a chance to go along, I urge them to do so. Unfortunately, I never got round to submitting a photograph for the stall, but I will certainly update my cats back home that we were paying tribute to them. For the first time in many decades, I remembered Timothy the tortoise, who was my first pet as a child, which brought back memories for me. All the anecdotes and stories that we have heard from various members remind us that it is important, and sometimes humbling, to remember the many benefits that we obtain from our relationship with animals.

Christine Grahame and the cross-party group on animal welfare do sterling work to promote discussion, share information and raise awareness about animal welfare issues, ably supported by OneKind and others.

Although this week’s event is upbeat, as we have heard from members’ speeches, most of the issues that the cross-party group deals with are anything but. Animals are hugely important to Scotland for a range of reasons, and the cross-party group has a critical role in reminding Parliament of our responsibility to ensure that they are properly looked after. For example, Scotland’s animals help to maintain and enhance our world-famous landscape, to which Stewart Stevenson and others referred. Carefully managed grazing by cattle and sheep helps to maintain the vast upland environment and to ensure a rich diversity of plants and wildlife.

Wild animals also play a part in shaping the landscape. For example, beavers, recently the subject of a successful reintroduction trial, can have beneficial effects by creating wetlands, increasing biodiversity and even minimising floods.

When managed responsibly, Scotland’s animals contribute to a healthy tourism industry, a world-renowned livestock industry, and a beautiful country for the people of Scotland to live and work in, too.

As we have heard, many people benefit from animals on a much more personal level, not least the many pet owners that derive companionship and, in some cases, purpose from their animals. There is growing evidence that animals have a therapeutic benefit for people’s physical and mental wellbeing, even helping people with psychiatric illnesses. The benefits that companionship can bring to wellbeing were reflected in Elaine Murray’s and many other members’ speeches. More work is needed to improve our knowledge of that effect. However, from studies to date, it appears that, when employed in the correct manner and targeted at the appropriate user group, animals can contribute significantly to our wellbeing and quality of life.

The national charity Pets As Therapy already provides therapeutic visits from volunteers with their pet dogs and cats to places such as hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes and special needs schools. We should also pay tribute to the thousands of volunteers who help animal welfare charities.