"Animal welfare transcends political views and in the run-up to the election we will be campaigning hard to get cross-party backing for our manifesto." Mike Flynn, SSCPA.

Charity urges candidates to take action against puppy trade, fireworks and fox-hunting.

The Scottish SPCA has revealed a new manifesto which aims to improve the welfare of pets, wildlife and farm animals across the country, ahead of the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary election.

In a survey carried out by ScotPulse on behalf of the Scottish SPCA, the majority of the 2,813 respondents supported every single item in the charity’s manifesto.

Mike Flynn, chief superintendent of the Scottish SPCA, said: “This manifesto sets out a series of asks which we know will deliver real, lasting welfare improvements for pets, wildlife and farm animals.

“The overwhelming majority of Scots are animal lovers and that’s evidenced by the results of our survey, which shows many of them want to see their candidates support the items in our manifesto.

“Animal welfare transcends political views and in the run-up to the election we will be campaigning hard to get cross-party backing for our manifesto. Scotland has made great strides in animal welfare in recent years, but there’s always more we can do. It’s time to do better for animals.”

One of the charity's asks in its manifesto is for a national register for people who are convicted for being cruel to animals. According to the Scottish SPCA, this would help combat the breach of bans by offenders, help link animal cruelty with other offences and ensure enforcement agencies are joined up and cross-referencing other registers with animal cruelty.

'A Better Scotland for Animals' also calls for a ban on the import of puppies under six months old, as well as tighter restrictions on fireworks, a ban on the import of dogs with cropped ears, a total ban on fox-hunting in Scotland and the introduction of an initiative which incentivises landlords to accommodate tenants with pets.

To read the full manifesto and sign the Scottish SPCA's petition in support of the charity's calls for action, please click here.

Image (c) Scottish SPCA.