Protecting Scotland's Animals

A REAL FOX HUNTING BAN

In 2002 the Scottish Parliament attempted to ban this cruel practice, but the law is riddled with loopholes. Almost twenty years later, fox hunting continues much as it used to. There are still ten mounted fox hunts and a number of footpacks in operation, and the use of  terriers in fox ‘control’  is widespread. In the last Parliament Green MSP Alison Johnstone published detailed proposals that would deliver the watertight ban we need. We will deliver this legislation in the next Parliament.

END DRIVEN GROUSE SHOOTING

The Scottish Greens oppose bloodsports. We see no justification for animals suffering and being killed for pleasure, and therefore support a ban on driven grouse shooting. This practice dominates the Scottish uplands, with between 12 and 18% of land in Scotland managed primarily to produce grouse for shooting. Management of intensive grouse moors itself causes many wider animal welfare and environmental concerns as it involves the routine killing of other wildlife species like foxes, stoats, weasels, and crows. The Scottish Government has pledged to introduce licensing for grouse moors in the next Parliament.

The Scottish Greens will ensure licensing of grouse moors:

• Is properly resourced and well enforced, including extending the powers of the SSPCA to allow them to investigate and prosecute wildlife crime.
• Ends the killing of other animals to maximise grouse numbers.
• Bans the use of spring traps, snares, stink pits, decoy birds as bait, and cage traps.
• Prohibits the use of toxic lead ammunition and medicated grit.
• Includes strong and workable sanctions that mean licences are removed if Police Scotland are satisfied that wildlife crimes are occurring on a landholding.

PROTECT FARM ANIMALS

Intensive farming continues to be a challenge to animal welfare standards in Scotland, particularly in the poultry and pork sectors. In 2020, there were 14.4m chickens and 337,000 pigs in Scotland, a high proportion of which spend their entire lives indoors, in conditions barely better than those banned by the EU.

The Scottish Greens will:

• Push for an end to the use of farrowing crates for pigs and ‘enriched’ cages for hens.
• Ban the culling of male chicks in the egg industry, as Germany has done.
• Fight to maintain standards, including the ban on the use of antibiotics and hormones to stimulate unnaturally fast growth in farm animals.
• Press for trade deals to include restrictions on the importation of animal products from countries with poor animal welfare standards.
• Fight for a legal ban on live animal exports for slaughter and fattening from Scotland to the continent and beyond, including via Ireland and England.
• Provide greater support for calf-at-foot dairies that keep young calves with their mothers and prevent the exportation of young animals.
• Press for a significant reduction in the stocking densities on Scotland’s salmon farms and an end to risky practices such as thermolicer treatments, which can have a high mortality rate.

IMPROVE COMPANION ANIMAL WELFARE

In 2021 new requirements come into force for the licensing of pet vending, animal rehoming, animal shelters and sanctuaries, and the breeding of dogs, cats and rabbits. The Scottish Greens worked to ensure these requirements were fit for purpose, and in the next session we will focus on their robust implementation. We will also introduce a complete ban on the use of shock collars and other pain based animal training aids, and reverse the SNP Government’s decision in the last Parliament to re-introduce the docking of puppy tails for hunting and other ‘working’ dogs.

The Scottish Greens will ban the breeding, import and export of dogs for racing, ending greyhound racing in Scotland. Racing dogs typically experience a life of neglect in isolated confinement, many are drugged with Class A substances to race, and all are at high risk of lethal injury due to intensive racing. Most don’t receive adequate health care and often suffer from malnutrition and untreated illness and injury. At least 10,000 dogs are deemed surplus to requirement by the UK industry every year and while charities re-home some, many are abandoned, killed or sold for dissection.

BAN CRUEL TRAPS

Wildlife trapping continues to be widespread across Scotland, and the use of traps is poorly regulated, causing unnecessary suffering at a very large scale. The Scottish Greens will ban glue traps, snares and Larsen traps.