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Introduction
1. The Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill received Royal Assent on 11 July 2006.
2. Section 20 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 makes it an offence to interfere with the sensitive tissues or the bone structure of an animal unless it is for the medical treatment of that animal. Scottish Ministers can specify in regulations procedures which are exempt from this general prohibition. The regulations can specify the purpose, the conditions and the manner of the procedure which is to be exempt.
3. This consultation paper asks a series of questions about the procedures which we propose can be performed, the purposes for which they are to be permitted and the conditions to be attached to operation of these procedures. In essence, these are the exemptions that will be permitted under section 20(5) of the Act. Under section 20(4), "prohibited procedure" is defined as "the carrying out of a procedure which involves interference with the sensitive tissues or bone structure of the animal". This section makes it an offence to mutilate a protected animal, or cause a protected animal to be mutilated, or permit the mutilation of an animal if you are responsible for the animal.
4. This consultation outlines:
(1) the procedures we propose to exempt from section 20(1) and (2) subject to compliance with any specified conditions;
(2) the proposed conditions on procedures such as the purposes for which these procedures may be carried out, the manner in which these procedures may be carried out; and the conditions under which the procedure is performed;
(3) the way in which the Regulations will be enforced; and
(4) offences.
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