OneKind has urged the allocation of new investigative powers to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Scottish SPCA), to aid the fight against wildlife crime.
At present, Scottish SPCA Inspectors have powers under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, to investigate suspected offences against domestic animals.
Inspectors can obtain warrants to enter houses in relation to animal welfare offences involving pets, farmed animals and captive wild animals.
But under wildlife legislation – the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 – if there is no live animal involved, Inspectors have no powers to act and must call for police assistance before the offence can be investigated. That stops them gathering evidence after the death of a wild animal, or checking obviously illegal traps or snares – despite having specialist knowledge of animals, wildlife law and investigation techniques.
Now, however, the Scottish Government is considering giving powers to the Scottish SPCA, so that its Inspectors will be able to enter land and gather evidence in connection with the investigation of wildlife crime. Inspectors would have the same powers they already exercise under domestic animal legislation, and be subject to the same restrictions as the police.
OneKind has strongly supported the proposal. In our response, we point to the pre-eminent role of the Scottish SPCA in securing convictions under the 2006 Act, often in partnership with police or local authority officials. According to our calculations, the rate of convictions in completed Scottish SPCA cases for the most common cruelty charge was 83% in 2012-13, and 72% for the offence of failing to ensure an animal’s welfare.
Wildlife crimes can involve great cruelty but are particularly difficult to investigate due to the often remote areas where they take place, and the lack of visibility of the offence. Unfortunately, our field officer’s experience of reporting concerns about suspected offences against wild animals is that these are not consistently and adequately addressed, for a variety of reasons – lack of resources, police priorities, lack of knowledge by call takers, or issues of admissibility. There are experienced specialist wildlife officers in Police Scotland, but there are not nearly enough of them. When incidents come to light it can be impossible for police officers to attend the scene quickly, and delays increase the likelihood of evidence being destroyed, either deliberately or a simply as a result of exposure.
As an animal protection charity, OneKind seeks to end animal suffering by ensuring consistent legal protection for all animals, to reflect modern scientific knowledge of animal sentience and move away from historic prejudice or outdated attitudes towards predators and “pest” species. The current lack of powers for the Scottish SPCA under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an anomaly, and seriously out of step with public concern about the suffering caused to wild animals by the illegal actions of a few humans.
OneKind is confident that responsible individuals and organisations around the country will welcome the prospect of 60 trained inspectors with expertise in evidence-gathering being deployed, wherever offences against wild animals are suspected.
The Scottish Government consultation is open until Monday 1 September and can be accessed here