Keir Starmer’s government unveiled a new Animal Welfare Strategy south of the border but there are no equivalent policies in Scotland.
The SNP has been urged not to fall behind the UK Gov on animal cruelty
SNP ministers must not fall behind England on stamping out animal cruelty after the UK Government launched a landmark crackdown, a charity has warned.
Last week saw Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government unveil an Animal Welfare Strategy south of the border, with a raft of measures to protect livestock and wild creatures.
They include plans to ban farrowing crates and CO2 gas stunning of pigs and to review the use of mole traps and live capture bird traps.
But charity OneKind claimed John Swinney’s Scottish Government has yet to produce equivalent policies.
Campaigners have long urged an end to the use of “cruel” restrictive cages for sows, which sees them kept for weeks around pregnancy, stripping them of the ability to carry out natural behaviours or bond with piglets.
Campaigners want an end to the caging of sows
However a call to include a farrowing crates ban in a 2024 consultation on outlawing the caging of hens was ignored by Holyrood chiefs.
Kirsty Jenkins, of OneKind, said Scotland should also look at the measures being adopted for wild animals. She added: “Barbaric mole traps are completely unregulated.
Kirsty Jenkins, of charity OneKind, called mole traps ‘barbaric’
“And crows in cage traps suffer intensely from the fear and distress caused by sudden confinement. A review of these, and other risks, is well overdue, and we urge the Scottish Government to make this commitment too.
“Parties that want to earn the trust of Scottish voters must demonstrate clear, credible commitments to improve the lives of animals in Scotland.”
The Scottish Government was approached for comment.