Hansard

That is a good example. In the UK, there are more than 5,000 active Pets As Therapy dogs and a smaller number of cats working to bring the opportunity to stroke, hold and talk to a calm and friendly animal to thousands of people who are in need of the emotional lift that sometimes only animal companionship can bring.

There is, of course, no doubt of the huge benefit of guide dogs to their 520 blind or partially sighted owners in Scotland or, indeed, of hearing dogs for the deaf. I think that Alex Fergusson mentioned hearing dogs. The service that those dogs provide is impressive and crucial to many people’s lives. However, perhaps even more remarkable is a recent small trial in Scotland of dogs as helpers to dementia patients that Alzheimer Scotland and others ran. The dogs helped with daily routine, reminded people to take medicines, improved owners’ confidence, helped them to socialise and offered reassurance in unfamiliar environments.

The pilot was particularly successful and a national programme of matching of dogs to people with dementia is being rolled out across the country, which is good news indeed.

Individual responsibility is important in the debate. It is important for the welfare of all the animals that provide all those benefits to us. Animal welfare is immensely important to the people of Scotland and the Scottish Government takes it very seriously.

The main legal provision for animal welfare in Scotland lies in the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, which covers the welfare of all protected animals kept by people. As well as making the ill treatment of animals an offence, the act places a clear duty of care on anyone who is responsible for an animal.

There is also, of course, more specific legislation on a range of areas: the breeding of dogs, the sale of pets, animal boarding, performing animals, zoo animals, and farm animals and their humane slaughter. Some of that legislation is relatively new. For example, the Welfare of Animals at Time of Killing (Scotland) Regulations 2012 are the first, and currently only, legislation in the UK that implements the European Union rules on welfare at killing that came into force on 1 January 2013.

We are taking that issue, which members mentioned, seriously. It is an emotive topic that many would rather not think about. However, it is important and, indeed, inevitable that, with an outstanding reputation for producing high-quality meat from livestock with an excellent reputation for high health and welfare, Scotland takes such debates seriously. That legislation also maintains Scotland’s pre-existing higher welfare at slaughter standards. We should bear in mind the fact that that we benefit from those higher standards, which help Scotland to be at the forefront of animal welfare.

However, I recognise that, as some members mentioned, animal welfare legislation needs updated in some areas. I am acutely aware that the Pet Animals Act 1951, to which Christine Grahame and other members referred, does not include provisions for modern welfare issues such as internet sales or exotic pets. I am also aware that we currently have welfare legislation for the breeding of dogs only, which leaves the breeding of other pet animals unregulated.

My officials met representatives of the pet industry in recent months to gather initial views on those welfare issues and how they can be tackled. I urge OneKind and parliamentary colleagues to note that we are already working on an initial review of the issues and options relating to pet animals. We will be discussing the matter further in the weeks and months ahead.

Of course, other issues have just been consulted on, such as responsible dog ownership—to which Malcolm Chisholm and others referred—and microchipping. There have been 2,500 responses to that consultation. That is a huge number and it illustrates the strength of feeling over animal welfare issues and responsible dog ownership in this country.

There are a whole lot of issues to take forward. We must also recognise the role that animal welfare charities play in education. For example, the Scottish SPCA provides an excellent free prevention through education programme to Scotland’s children, encouraging them to treat animals with compassion and respect.

In Scotland, we are fortunate that we have so many people who are willing to donate time and money to help to improve animal welfare. We should all be proud to live in such a caring country. Animals are of course sentient beings, as was discussed, and they should be given respect, care and compassion. We cannot ignore their huge contribution to people and the environment and it is right for that to be celebrated.

I congratulate Christine Grahame again on lodging her motion and I congratulate everyone who has put in efforts to ensure that we do that in the Parliament this week. I urge everyone to continue to work together to ensure that we have the best possible animal welfare standards in Scotland.