Review the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006
What we’re campaigning for and how you can help.
What we’re campaigning for
After 20 years since its introduction, we’re calling for a review to modernise the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.
Why we’re campaigning
This legislation must tackle today’s issues including the alarming growth and changing landscape of animal abuse like online trade in animals and sharing animal abuse footage online.
How we will do this
We want The Five Domains Model of Animal Welfare integrated into the Act, updating the current Five Freedoms catching up with the Dutch government, who have proposed changing the legal model underpinning its Animals Act. We need legislation in Scotland that cares for animals beyond their basic needs and want to lead the way in the world.
We must collaborate with veterinary professionals, animal welfare organisations, enforcement bodies, and online platforms to develop and implement relevant legislative reforms. Ensure that legal guidance and sentencing frameworks are appropriately updated.
Steve the Marmoset: Why we need a Positive List for Pets
I was called Steve. I lived alone in a small cage, in a busy living room that was never dark, never quiet. I could hear televisions, children shouting, doors slamming. I was fed marshmallows and crisps because they made me seem “happy.” I wasn’t happy. I was stressed, underweight and constantly frightened.
Marmosets like me are wild animals. In our natural homes, we live in groups, communicate constantly, and roam freely through trees. We’re social, intelligent, and need space, diet, and light that match the rhythms of the rainforest, not a living room shelf.
Enter header here…
When the Scottish SPCA found me, I was pacing the cage, over grooming my fur from stress. I was rescued, treated, and eventually transferred to a sanctuary that specialises in caring for monkeys. There, I finally met others of my kind. I have been given the ability to climb, play, and experienced things I’ve never have before — like choice.
But there are more like me. Across Scotland, people keep exotic species that can’t thrive in domestic settings, and often without understanding how complex our needs really are.
That’s why the Scottish SPCA is calling for a Positive List for pets, a simple, clear approach that allows only animals whose welfare needs can truly be met in a domestic environment, to be kept as pets. It’s not about taking pets away; it’s about preventing suffering before it begins.
I was lucky enough to be found. Many others aren’t.
What we’re asking candidates and political parties to do
We invite you to meet with us, hear the evidence behind our proposals, and explore how you can place animal welfare at the centre of your commitments. These are practical, achievable steps that will:
- Reduce animal abuse
- Strengthen enforcement
- Make Scotland safer and fairer for animals and people alike
What we’re asking Scotland to do
Use your voice for Scotland’s animals.
We are asking for Scotland’s support. You can do this by learning more about the issues we’re tackling, showing and sharing your support on social media, and adding your voice to the call for change.
Every conversation matters. Every show of support helps us make the case that animal welfare is not a luxury — it is essential to Scotland’s wellbeing.
Animals count in Scotland — Let’s make them count for something.
Support us from £5 a month
Every £1 helps us rescue, protect and advocate for Scotland’s animals.
