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Proposal to Revise Existing Animal Welfare Legislation

ANNEX A: DRAFT PARTIAL REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

1. TITLE OF PROPOSAL

Proposals to Revise Existing Animal Welfare Legislation

2. PURPOSE AND INTENDED EFFECT OF THE MEASURE

Issue: The general principles of animal welfare legislation are set out in the Protection of Animal Acts which make it an offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal. Since the first of these Acts was implemented in Scotland in 1912 (similar legislation in England and Wales dates from 1911), they have been amended on a number of occasions. In many respects the legislation remains designed to deal with the ill-treatment of animals during the 19^th century: the 1912 Act was intended to consolidate legislation from that century. Since that Act was implemented there has been increasing awareness that an animal does not suffer solely as a result of physical abuse caused by deliberate acts or neglect and that there is a need to safeguard their physiological and other needs. Some of these needs have, to an extent, been addressed in legislation that has been introduced for farm livestock, animals in transit, and animals in zoological collections. However, there remains concern that the welfare needs of domestic, companion or pet, sport and captive animals are not being adequately provided for. Further, the legislation for these animals does not reflect modern day practices and there are a number of anomalies in the legislation concerning animal boarding and riding establishments. Additionally there is real concern that the legislation for domestic, companion or pet, sport and captive animals is confusing, unwieldy, insufficient and outdated.

Objective: Responses to a consultation to amend the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912, issued on 21 March 2003, indicated the clear desire for wide reform of existing animal welfare legislation. Scottish Ministers have agreed that wider amendments should be made to the animal welfare legislation when a suitable opportunity arises. A revision of the existing animal welfare legislation would aim to modernise, strengthen and improve the current legislation and to prevent cruelty on any animal and promote the welfare of all animals, including domestic pets for which people are either permanently or temporarily responsible, including owning, managing or in any way keeping any animal, including buying, selling and transporting.

Risk assessment: The revision of the legislation will impact on the number of prosecutions that are brought under the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912. It will also reduce, in the long term, the number of animals that have to be rescued or picked up and the number of cruelty cases that are investigated.

3. BUSINESS SECTORS AFFECTED

The revision of the welfare legislation will affect businesses that own, manage, or in any way keep an animal, including buying, selling and transporting it. This includes a very wide range of businesses, from farmers to specific types of businesses that own and manage specific types of animals, undertake specific activities with them, or provide specific accommodation for them. The review will also affect a range of businesses that are not affected by the licensing and regulation provisions in the current legislation: cat breeding establishments, importers of cats and dogs from abroad for sale in the UK, livery yards, animal sanctuaries, pet fairs and greyhound race tracks.

4. ISSUES OF EQUITY AND FAIRNESS

Changes to the current legislation will have initial cost implications for those with commercial interests in animals, enforcement agencies, the judicial system, animal welfare organisations and charities and the general public. The review of the guidance will ensure that animal establishments that currently own, manage, or in any way keep an animal, including buying, selling and transported are all covered by legislation to ensure the welfare of animals that they own, manage or in any way keep. It will address anomalies in the current legislation whereby some establishments are licensed and others are not. It will also achieve a better regulation of a number of types of premises where animals are kept (such as circuses whether on the road or in quarters, pet fairs, animal sanctuaries, greyhound-racing tracks), and welfare standards in pheasant rearing and livery yards. A revision to the current legislation will also benefit society in a number of ways by ensuring that a much wider range of animals are better cared for. They would be less likely to stray, create a public nuisance, display aggression and be prone to disease or injury. There would be a variable impact on charities. Changes to the legislation would encourage the better care of animals in the long term and there would be a reduction in the number of animals that were taken into the care of sanctuaries. Charities that are actively engaged in taking action against those who are guilty of cruelty or negligence would likely find — at least in the short term - an increase in the volume of their work.

5. CONSULTATION WITH SMALL BUSINESSES (THE ‘LITMUS TEST’)

We currently do not have enough information on the size of all the businesses that are covered by current animal welfare legislation or those that would now be included by changes to that legislation to carry out a full analysis of the impact on small firms. We expect that the consultation exercise will provide the level of detail required to create a more informed view.

Small business stakeholders are requested to comment on the potential impact on them of the amendments to the current animal welfare legislation proposed in the consultation paper. We shall consider further stakeholder engagement, through meetings with interested stakeholders, including animal welfare organisations, farmers, animal charities, animals businesses etc., to ensure that we are fully informed of the consequences of any legislative changes.

6. OPTIONS

Option 1: No change to existing legislation.
Option 2: Impose a voluntary code of practice/self-regulation.
Option 3: Revise existing animal welfare legislation and introduce legislation aimed at consolidating and updating much of the animal welfare legislation in Scotland.

7. RISKS, BENEFITS AND COSTS OF THE OPTIONS

Risks and benefits:

Option 1: No benefits.

A number of organisations have already indicated to the Scottish Executive that the Protection of Animals Act 1912 has ceased to meet the needs of modern day society to look after the welfare of a range of animals. The pressure to amend the current legislation, and to consolidate and update it, is bound to increase if the Executive takes no action. The need to modernise our legislation will be intensified in light of developments by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) which intends to publish a draft Animal Welfare Bill for consultation in the first half of this year. This Bill would consolidate and bring-up-to date legislation that would apply in England and Wales. It would be undesirable to have outdated and outmoded legislation in Scotland which fails to meet modern day animal welfare needs and which is unwieldy and difficult to work with when these issues have been addressed in England and Wales.

Option 2: No benefits.

The Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912 deals with those who cause unnecessary suffering through either deliberate cruelty or neglect. This cannot be addressed through self-regulation. There are already some voluntary codes of practice for commercial undertakings such as pet traders and livery yards but no mechanism exists to see that they are properly policed.

Option 3: This option would bring a number of benefits.

The consultation is intended to be as wide ranging as possible. It focuses on a number of specific issues which could be included in future legislation. The benefits that would arise from the revision of the legislation would be dependant on the results of the consultation responses. As outlined in the consultation paper, they could include the following benefits:

• Provide clearer legislation which would make compliance easier for business and government.
• Benefit animals, to prevent cruelty on any animal and promote the welfare of all animals.
• Improve the existing animal welfare legislation by identifying gaps that would modernise specific provisions of animal welfare suited to the 21^st century.

More specifically:

• The definition of an ‘animal’ may enable legislation to be applied to a wider range of animals than at present.
• Provide an obligation to secure and promote the welfare of animals in accordance with good management practice and scientific knowledge.
• Provide for a specific offence for the abandonment of an animal by its owner or keeper.
• Strengthen and extend the current provisions relating to animal fighting.
• Strengthen the current legislation relating to the regulation, licensing and inspection of animals in circuses/performing animals.
• Amend the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 to update the list of controlled species, to improve enforcement and to issue revised guidance to local authorities.
• Extend the current regulations for the licensing of dog breeding establishments to the sale of young companion or pet animals, including the trade in young puppies and kittens imported by dealers for resale in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.
• Extend the regulations that deal with dog breeding establishments to those that breed cats.
• Strengthen the current legislation relating to pet shops and improve current practice. This may include strengthening licensing conditions, increasing the age at which children can purchase pets, ensuring that dangerous wild animals whether for sale or display do not present a danger to the public, improving the competence of staff on animal handling and educating prospective purchasers in the care and welfare needs of animals.
• Provide greater regulatory control over public and private pet fairs.
• Provide greater controls on the buying and selling of exotic or dangerous animals.
• Regulate the couping of horses.
• Provide for the licensing of greyhound racing in animal welfare terms and for the conditions of racing dogs during their racing career and after it.
• Strengthen the legislation relating to game birds so that they are brought under similar provisions as those of farmed birds.
• Ban or restrict the docking of dogs’ tails for prophylactic or preventative purposes.
• Make regulations that set out conditions under which animals may be sold at permanent markets for the sale of farmed livestock and other places where animals (livestock and other animals) are bought and sold on an occasional basis.
• License animal sanctuaries.
• License animal livery yards in the same way as other animal boarding establishments.
• Introduce a statutory code of practice which would provide guidance on the tethering of all equines.
• Give statutory powers to local authorities to remove neglected animals (not only farm livestock) which are suffering or at risk of suffering, to a place of safety.

Costs to businesses

Option 1: There would be continued high costs to rehome inappropriately sold pets or cure mis-treated animals.
Option 2: As option 1.
Option 3: Some businesses that are not subject to regulation under the current licensing/registering arrangements are to be regulated and they will incur additional costs to meet minimum welfare standards as set in licensing conditions. There will be a licence fee set by the local authority to cover administration, inspection and enforcement costs. However, depending on size of business/activity it is possible that in some cases for existing licensed establishments the cost burden could be reduced as annual inspections may be replaced by less frequent inspections. The additional licensing work will result in a heavier work load for local authorities. There would also — at least initially — be more animal welfare cases being brought before the courts. However, in the long term, there is likely to be significant savings on enforcement and judicial costs as the bill would encourage a more responsible attitude to animal ownership. The putting in place of mechanisms to increase regulation and making the public more aware about the need to be pro-active in good animal care would be key to reducing prosecutions. These would take some time to impact on the level of offences from the time of the passing of new animal welfare legislation.

8. COMPETITION ASSESSMENT

The position will be considered once proposals are clearer.

9. MONITORING AND REVIEW

The Scottish Executive will consider proposals from stakeholders for any changes to the legislation that they consider necessary in the light of their experience, and the effectiveness of the current legislation.

10. CONSULTATION

Stakeholders are invited to comment on the consultation on animal welfare legislation and the Draft Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment and to provide information on the potential costs and benefits to them (both monetary and non-monetary) of the amendments to current animal welfare legislation.

After the responses to this consultation have been received and collated, they will be summarised, omitting those where confidentiality has been requested, and this summary will be circulated to consultees and be made available on the Scottish Executive website. The responses received will be used to review policy proposals and produce a draft Bill. A further consultation exercise on the draft Bill including a partial RIA is also planned.

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