05 September 2018
Melissa Donald has called the plans a great move for animal welfare
BVA has welcomed the Scottish Government's
plans to establish a new Animal Welfare Commission to advise on the welfare of
domesticated and wild animals in Scotland and ensure that standards are
maintained post-Brexit.
The
new commission, announced as part of the Scottish Government's
2018-19 Programme, will work closely with animal welfare organisations and
other expert stakeholders across key issues including sentencing for animal
cruelty, including attacks on police dogs, breeding legislation and the
licensing of animal sanctuaries and rehoming centres.
Melissa Donald,
BVA Scottish Branch President, said: “This is a great move which demonstrates
the Scottish Government's continued commitment to animal welfare. It is vitally important to ensure that animal
welfare standards are at least maintained and where possible improved
post-Brexit, so establishing a specialist group with this remit will help to
channel expertise with a clear goal in mind.
“BVA has fed
into consultations on sanctuaries and rehoming centres and emphasised the
importance of strengthened, clear and considered regulation which prioritises
the health and welfare of animals in these environments. We also support
strengthened protections for all ‘protected animals' as defined in the Animal
Welfare Act.
“We look forward to seeing proposals in due course for other
animal activities including breeding and pet sales. At a minimum these should
be aligned with the incoming Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving
Animals) (England) Regulations to ensure high standards of animal welfare across
the UK and prevent loopholes in licensing legislation between nations.”
