Animal welfare measures in Scotland: penalties, protections, powers and a Commission

Proposals to increase maximum penalties for cruelty to animals in England were stymied last year by the prorogation and subsequent dissolution of Parliament, although a government-supported Private Member’s Bill has now revived these and is scheduled for Second Reading in October. Domestic legislation to recognise the sentience of animals due to the loss of the explicit reference to sentience in article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union has been postponed until after the transition period and ‘when Parliamentary time allows’. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament are progressing a swathe of new animal welfare measures. These include new primary and secondary legislation and the creation of a Scottish Animal Welfare Commission