Question reference: S6W-24485
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 12 January 2024
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Current status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 24 January 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the First Minister’s announcement on 11 January 2024 that it will, in essence, replicate in Scotland the legislation that exists in England and Wales on XL bully dogs, what alternative protections it considered in order to address the potential displacement of XL bully dogs to Scotland from England and Wales, and for what reason it dismissed any such alternative options.
Answer
In light of the UK Government failing to ensure English and Welsh XL Bully dog owners cannot evade the new safeguards through selling or otherwise disposing of their dogs in Scotland, the Scottish Government has been left with little choice to decide to replicate the new safeguards in Scotland. Through replicating the new regime, this will ensure owners in England and Wales have no ability to evade the new controls in England and Wales by selling their dogs to people in Scotland.
More generally, we are considering how best the preventative dog control regime in the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 could be improved. The need for the new safeguards for XL Bully dogs specifically arises separately from the general Scottish Government continuing policy focus on ‘deed, not breed’.