Hansard

I thank my team, as well as the parliamentary clerks and the additional member in charge of the bill, Christine Grahame.

It is a privilege to stand here today on behalf of dog owners and dog lovers across Scotland, as well as for dogs themselves and for anyone who is passionate about animal welfare, the principles of justice and societal wellbeing.

The American naturalist and animal welfare campaigner Roger Caras said:

“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”

As any dog lover will attest, they most certainly do.

A dog is not an item; it is man’s best friend, according to George Graham Vest. Dogs are valued and loved members of the family. They are loved by individuals, neighbourhoods and communities more widely. Losing a dog is heartbreaking and traumatic, whatever the circumstances. Losing a dog as a result of theft compounds that trauma. Stealing a family pet, whether for financial reward or any other reason, is a wicked act and should be treated accordingly by the law.

Currently, if a dog is stolen, the crime would be prosecuted under the common-law offence of theft, as with the theft of any other item, such as a bike, television or clock. That does not reflect the sentient nature of dogs, the emotional attachment between owner and dog, or the impact that the loss of a dog has on the wider family, nor does it reflect the pain and trauma that are experienced by the dog. That is why I and many others—including 97 per cent of respondents to my consultation—believe that the bill is both necessary and a priority.

There is precedent out there. At United Kingdom level, dog theft is now a stand-alone offence, as established by the Pet Abduction Act 2024. There are other cases of stand-alone statutory offences having been established in Scots law where an action is already illegal under common law. Most notable among those is the offence created by the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021, which was introduced as a member’s bill in the previous parliamentary session and was piloted through the Parliament by Daniel Johnson. That act created the new stand-alone offence of assaulting, threatening or abusing retail workers while they are on duty.

I will go through each part of my bill in turn. It makes dog theft a specific statutory offence, with penalties of up to 12 months in prison under summary proceedings and five years under solemn proceedings, and/or a fine that can be up to the statutory maximum in summary proceedings or unlimited in solemn proceedings.

The bill provides for the ability of dog-theft victims to make a statement to the court telling of the impact and trauma of the loss of the dog. That will mean that they can tell the court about the full impact of the theft on them and on the dog. There have been wider developments in relation to victim statements, which I will cover in closing.

The bill provides for a statutory aggravation for the theft of an assistance dog. That means that people who rely on assistance dogs to help them to perform day-to-day tasks will have an additional layer of protection under the law.

The bill requires the Scottish Government to collect data on incidents of dog theft and to publish and lay that data before the Parliament through an annual report. It was clear in stage 1 evidence that better data needs to be collected on incidents of dog theft. I was pleased to hear that Police Scotland is already taking steps to do that. Collecting reliable data and reporting to Parliament on that data represents good public sector governance and ensures transparency.

My bill also requires the Scottish Government to review the act after five years and to report to the Parliament on its operation. That will allow our legislative successors to decide whether the act is working effectively and, if it is, to consider whether it would be appropriate to extend its provisions to other animals. I have always considered that the Scottish Parliament needs to get better at post-legislative scrutiny—my bill will embed that in this area.

I thank the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee for its excellent scrutiny and stage 1 report, all stakeholders who gave evidence to the committee and those who, earlier in the process, responded to the consultation on my bill proposal. I welcome the scrutiny that was provided by the lead committee, by the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee and by the Finance and Public Administration Committee. The lead committee’s report is balanced, rigorous and fair. I am pleased by its unanimous support for the general principles of the bill at stage 1, which shows that this is not a partisan issue.

I also welcome the committee’s conclusion that

“a stand-alone, statutory offence would recognise that dogs are sentient beings and reflect the impact on animal welfare associated with their theft.”

That affirms the case that stakeholders have been making for some years.

I also whole-heartedly welcome the committee’s recommendations on the general principles of the bill. Moreover, I am giving consideration to further recommendations from the committee. I extend an open invitation not only to members of the committee but to the Scottish Government and the minister—we have had a series of productive meetings thus far—and stakeholders to help us refine the bill at stage 2, should it pass at stage 1 tonight.

I look forward to the debate and to addressing members’ comments when I sum up.

I move,

That the Parliament agrees to the general principles of the Dog Theft (Scotland) Bill.