The Scottish Government has introduced new laws which will strengthen punishments handed out for animal cruelty and increase powers to rehome affected animals.
The new legislation brought in on Tuesday will see potential sentences that can be handed out for the most serious offences increased to five years.
Enforcement agencies such as the SSPCA will also be given improved powers to take animals into possession on welfare grounds and to rehome them without a court order.
The 'Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill' will also implement ‘Finn’s Law’, giving extra protection to service animals, which was brought in in England and Wales earlier this year.
The law is named after Finn, a police dog who was stabbed whilst pursuing a suspect with his handler PC David Wardell. Finn sustained serious stab wounds to the chest and head, but only criminal damage charges could be brought against his attacker.
Under the new legislation, a similar event would allow far stricter punishment against any such attack in Scotland and the move has been welcomed.
Rural Affairs Minister Mairi Gougeon said: “We want to continue to have the highest standards of welfare for our animals and to have the most robust and proportionate penalties available.
“Through increasing the maximum penalties available for the most serious animal welfare and wildlife offences, we are ensuring that those who carry out these heinous acts will rightly face the full force of the law, as and where appropriate.
“We also want to see more protection given to service animals such as police dogs and horses, so we will be enacting what has become known as Finn’s law. I believe it is only right that animals which work to keep us safe should be given the fullest protection we can give them in return.
“Animal welfare is a subject I feel very passionately about, and call on stakeholders and parliament to support these bold steps to further improve Scotland’s high animal welfare standards.”
Kirsteen Campbell, Chief Executive of the Scottish SPCA, said: “These exciting changes have the potential to be transformational for animals across the country and the Scottish SPCA.
“The power to rehome animals without a court order would be of massive benefit to their welfare. All receive incredible care from our expert teams, but this is no substitute for a loving home.
“Prosecution is a last resort for the Society, but we have long felt the penalties for animal cruelty are too lenient and inconsistent. We hope increasing the options available to Sheriffs will lead to fewer people mistreating animals in the first place.”
