Meeting of the Parliament 18 March 2026 [Draft]
I congratulate Mark Ruskell on getting his bill to this stage. I also thank the committee staff, the legislation team and those who assisted us during the bill process, as well as those who gave evidence to the committee.
I have said more than once that we have had a fragmented approach to the welfare of dogs throughout this session of Parliament. We have had a number of members’ bills, but, as Finlay Carson said, what we need is a Government bill to pull together all aspects of animal welfare and stop the confused and piecemeal approach that has been taken.
Animal welfare is a concern for us all. Many people have family pets, and we cannot allow demand for those to lead to animals being harmed.
However, the bill will do nothing to improve the welfare of any animal in Scotland. It will prevent oval greyhound racetracks from being opened, but I do not think any such track would have received planning permission had it been sought in any event.
At stage 2, I tried to see whether we could do more to enhance animal welfare through the bill, but that was not possible. Some amendments were not competent, and those that were competent did not impact on any dog.
It beggars belief that, in a Parliament that has been sitting late in the evening for weeks to pass essential legislation, we have made time for a bill that does little or nothing. I will leave my comments at that and will take up no more precious time.