Parliamentary Briefings
As part of our work to inform public policy on animal welfare, Advocates for Animals produces parliamentary briefings. If you have a query on any area of policy, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will give you a well-researched opinion, or a contact point for further information.
Briefing for Wildlife Crime Debate
May 2008: A briefing for the debate on the report Natural Justice: A Joint Thematic Inspection of the Arrangements in Scotland for Preventing, Investigating and Prosecuting Wildlife. We supported many of the recommendations in the report but called for a more comprehensive definition of wildlife crime and a greater emphasis on animal welfare.
Briefing on the campaign to ban snaring in Scotland
January 2008: A joint briefing from our organisation and the League Against Cruel Sports, making the case for banning snaring in Scotland, describing the animal welfare consequences of snaring and examining the legal status of snaring under EU conservation legislation.
Briefing for Wildlife Crime Debate (1)
October 2007: A briefing from our organisation to all Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) for a Scottish Government debate on wildlife crime. The briefing focuses on the increase in persecution of Scotland’s wild animals and highlights the suffering caused by wildlife crime. Examples cited include badger-baiting, here-coursing, seal shooting and snaring.
Briefing on grey squirrel control in Scotland (2)
November 2006: Our comments on the Scottish Red Squirrel Action Plan, released by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), which proposed to spend £3.7million attempting to conserve red squirrels, with a focus on killing large numbers of grey squirrels. We sought greater emphasis on non-lethal control and drew attention to the welfare problems inherent in killing large numbers of grey squirrels.
Briefing for local food debate
September 2006: A briefing from our organisation for a Member’s Debate initiated by John Scott MSP on the benefits of buying locally-produced food. We agreed that consumers ought to reconnect with the farming industry in order to understand where meat, eggs and dairy products come from, and reminded MSPs that a reduction in the transport of live animals would be an important improvement to animal welfare.
