 Gailū da i, yn rymau cywmianeth? Please note that the Parliament is in session. Please do so as quickly as quietly as possible. On motion 4.1.8, on animal rights and human responsibilities, there will be a final decision, without any questions being put, and I would be grateful if those members who wish to participate could press the request-to-speak button. I � thoughtful and friendly debate, I hope, across the chamber that there will be nothing biting, clawing or scratching. First, I want to thank all members who signed and are not only my motion, those who stayed to debate, those who have visited the displays and the Parliament celebrating animals this weekend, those who signed the pledge and supported people, those who signed the message to vote on this budget. Will the Parliament gates go to the Parliament? wyliadion hynny dcarin cwestiynau yn dod o'u gwasanaeth a sír o gyfer yr aeth ddysgan. yn fawr, i'w ddarparu o'i ddefnyddio'r Jackie Baillie ac Gilydd, i'w Gilydd Paul Martin gyda unigol, cuddlig, gwanag oherwydd yn тыffwrniao, neu nawr, teimlo ddaeth rin fod yn cyfoeddwg. Felly wrth ar gyfer yr rygwrs yn gwneud o'u gweddau sy'n meddwl sydd rygwyr yn gwneud i sicrhau. Oni, rydw i'n cael ei bod yn digwydd credu'r cwestiynau pan arwyr, anewal welfare, some of whom are in the gallery today, they're just managing to get in, but last and not least the working dogs that will be joining us in the gallery. Sometimes I speak to one man and his dog, today I might be speaking with others to four dogs, and indeed I have been told that by the previous, the other deputy providing officer, Mr Scott, on his authority that Mr Q is my number one fan and stands to attention when I speak. It could be misread, but I'm taking it as respect. This is, of course, first and foremost, a recognition that all animals are sentient beings. We're just a wee bit higher up the evolutionary scale than them, and sometimes we even act as if we're a wee bit higher up the evolutionary scale. We have over the years tamed them, brought them to our fire for companionship and as guardians we have eaten them, we have abused them and still we can do all three. Those of us who have pets know that our commitment reaches way beyond that cuddly puppy and cute kitten. For me, that bird should not be caged. That rabbit needs a life beyond a hutch. So when we acquire, we buy that pet, it must be done with informed responsibility and commitment at the forefront of our minds, not just because it's do-eyed and cutesy. It must be for the right reasons, by the right person and given the right environment, not as a status symbol or a frivolous buy. We must accept that we can't just swan off for the weekend on holiday. You have to make provision for the care of your companion. There are inevitably vets bills ching ching when you go to the vets. It runs into hundreds or insurance costs. Your dog needs and will appreciate proper training and exercise. Oh, and if practicable for me, a cat flap, not for myself of course, is mandatory. I can't have a dog because of my lifestyle, so I have a sequence of cats and life in the wild of the garden, the battle scars from territorial scraps with the black feline next door, the odd bird and mouse remains on the rug. Are you recognising this, Ms Bailey? Are all part of living the life intended for them? You too must learn to live with your lifestyle. Just get lots of carpet cleaner and learn to rescue terrified birds from window ledges and to capture the odd terrified mouse and release it into the garden. It's a technique that I have mastered over the years and I'm happy to teach colleagues if they require the lesson. It's all to do with quality of life, the better their quality of life, the better you feel and you will learn as you go. I know, as the saying goes, that while dogs have masters, cats have staff. No does not mean no and any competent cat will be on your knee and being absentmindedly stroked before you know it. That quality of life must extend to the animals that we breed to eat. Factories are for making things and they are not and never will be farms. Even when we kill to eat, it must be done as humanely as possible. As for circuses, all acrobatics and clowning should be from the human species. Never ever by your pet from the back of a car, even if your heartstrings are tugged to breaking point, report it to the SSPCA or some other welfare organisation because it's simply wrong and you may be inadvertently supporting hideous puppy farming. Don't buy online. It's not the same as ordering next week's groceries or accessories for a new outfit. Animals are not things. By the way, we need to update the legislation on the sale of pets. The Pets Animals Act goes back to 1951. It's almost as old as me. It definitely needs a facelift. They act, not me. Let's enjoy our pets, our animal world, but let's do them the justice they deserve when we see that injustice, that ignorance, say, do something, even if only because we are more in common with them than we know. Many thanks. We turn to the open debate. I call first of all Alex Ferguson to be followed by John Mason, and I note that Alex Ferguson has to leave the chamber early. Deputy Presiding Officer, thank you very much and thank you for your indulgence in allowing me to leave the chamber early. I mean no harm to the chamber in having to do so. But like others, like others will, can I congratulate Christine Grahame on bringing this motion to the chamber this afternoon? I've been about to like the way it begins, because it begins by recognising and celebrating the contribution that animals bring to our world, be they pets, farmed or wild. If you think it's a little overstated, then just try and think of a world without any animals. It's not a pleasant thought, is it? The fact of the matter is that the animal kingdom has every bit as much a right to inhabit this planet as we do. We share the planet, but we have an added responsibility, which, as the motion points out, is to ensure that our animals enjoy the best possible welfare standards that we can help to provide. In the brief time available to me, I want to highlight just two aspects of animal rights and human responsibilities. The first was brought to my attention by a constituent who is profoundly deaf and whose quality of life has for many years been immeasurably improved by both the companionship and the expertise of a hearing dog. The issue that he raised with me is quite simply one of discrimination. We all know about guide dogs for the blind. How could we not with the wonderful and aforementioned Mr Q in our midst these days? We all know about that and we all know that exceptions are rightly made for them in all areas of life where pet dogs are normally excluded. Sadly, nothing like the same awareness appears to exist when it comes to hearing dogs, although I understand that the same legislation and regulations apply. My constituents have been refused entry to a number of establishments over the years and now know of many others who have had similar experiences. He has waged a lengthy and commendable letter writing campaign to have legislation strengthened, although I personally cannot help but feel that it is we who need educating about existing legislation and using it properly before we need to resort to new legislation in this field. It cannot be too difficult to ensure that our hotels, restaurants, cafes and other similar establishments are made aware of the need to treat hearing dogs with the same degree of respect as is shown to guide dogs. I would hope very much that debates such as this might help to initiate and kickstart that educated process. The second issue that I want to touch on is the one that has been raised with us by the National Farmers Union of Scotland and which is highly relevant to the human responsibilities part of the motion before us. As the NFUS briefing so succinctly puts it, it is essential that we ensure that companion animals and farm animals can coexist in the same environment without fear, distress or danger to each other. To achieve that aim, which is surely an entirely reasonable one, the human responsibility part of this motion, of this equation needs to be exercised to the full. We read too often about incidents of sheep and cattle worrying but that can be addressed by the exercising of proper control over the dogs by their owners if only they can be persuaded to exercise that control. The second aspect of the NFUS concern is to my mind even more serious than that. We now live in a world where it is almost universally accepted that dog owners and walkers pick up behind their dogs in our towns, cities and villages. I for one have been hugely impressed at the degree to which most people accept this as normal and sensible practice. That makes it all the more extraordinary in my opinion that people seem reluctant to take that same commitment with them when they take their animals into the countryside. In an urban setting, dog mess is antisocial and unpleasant. In a farm environment, it is also antisocial and unpleasant but it is also dangerous because dog mess can and does lead to disease in livestock, including abortion in cattle and death in sheep. I commend the national farmers union for its plans for a national campaign to promote an increased sense of responsibility amongst owners of dogs around farm animals. I hope that this Parliament will give that campaign its full support. It is a wonderful thing that people are effectively able to explore our countryside at will but the right that this Parliament conferred on them was not a right to roam. It was purposefully called a right of responsible access. All we need is a little more responsibility. I now call John Mason to be followed by Elaine Murray. I have to say that I thought that the heading for the motion was particularly good today as it combines the words rights and responsibilities. Both human beings and animals have rights but when it comes to talking about responsibilities I think that it has to be the human beings who shoulder most of those. I myself am very fond of animals and especially dogs. However, our first household pet was a budgie and I still remember as a youngster at primary school coming downstairs one morning taking the cover off his cage and finding him sadly deceased on the floor of his cage. We then had a couple of beagles in succession which were highly disobedient and most recently my mother has a disperbed collie which was amazingly obedient. Sadly it died a week past Monday age 15 and I used to go over every Sunday to my mother's for lunch and I would walk the dog after that so it was a bit strange I have to say going over last Sunday and there was no dog to walk. Therefore it is clear that many of us care very much for our pets and that can sometimes seem to go just a little bit too far. When a pet gets medical treatment faster than a human being does or when people leave their entire and large estates entirely to animal charities and nothing at all to people I do frankly get a little bit uneasy. We need to get a balance in all of that. There are many different forms of cruelty to dogs and other animals and I thought it was worth mentioning some of those today. There are the obvious forms like snares, chasing deer around field with cars, badger baiting etc. As Alex Ferguson has just mentioned and NFU Scotland were briefing us on they make many many valid points about irresponsible dog owners with livestock being distressed, hurt or killed by dogs. I think that air guns are also an issue especially for example the shooting of cats and if this Parliament is to control the licensing of air guns then I would hope that it is something we can clamp down on as is suggested by the league against cruel sports. There is unnecessary testing of products on animals and I would encourage colleagues to check the cleaning products they use in their offices. BUIV, the British Union for Abolition of Vivisection, do good work in this regard and the leaping bunny symbol indicates products are cruelty free. I think co-op stores are particularly good at stocking such products often with their own brand. Lastly, enlisting some of these areas of cruelty, my brother is a vet in Wales and tells me that one very common problem he faces is animals being overfed and overweight. Of course that can be difficult to tell the owners if they are also overfed and overweight and as with children sometimes saying no is the most caring response. In my constituency dogs trust have one of their two Scottish centres and it is well worth visiting if members have not done so. Last time I was in there visiting the staff they were telling me about the young offender rehabilitation which they are involved in. For example one young guy they were working with always had his hood up over his head which I guess indicated some of his personal issues. So they worked with him, explained that the dogs were frightened by the hood and at first he would agree to put the hood down for the dogs but not for people. However later on he came round to being much more relaxed in general and perhaps that's just a small indication of the positive impact animals can have even on some of the most difficult of people. I have to say I do not argue that we should care for animals because we are related to them, I believe we were created separately and are distinct from each other but I do believe we were given responsibility to look after all the animals of this world and that certainly includes wild as well as domesticated ones. People are more important than animals but that does not excuse cruelty. Having lived in Nepal for some years it was not unusual to see people throwing stones at dogs and even one time I was walking down the street and a dog itself was thrown out of a window. However I hope we as a society are moving on from that. Evidence shows that those who are cruel to animals are also cruel to their fellow human beings so human rights and animal rights are very much connected and I very much support them both. Many thanks. I now call Eileen Murray to be followed by Stewart Stevenson. Thank you Deputy Presiding Officer and can I start by congratulating Christine Grahame on bringing this motion to the chamber and on the organisation she's taken along with Dogs Trust and one kind on the displays in Parliament celebrating the contribution of pets to human wellbeing. The rolling exhibition of photographs of staff and MSP companion animals has attract much interest from the users of the building and I think it actually reminds us of all things we've got in common when we spend so much time in here fighting with each other. I've had the pleasure of the company of companion animals and a lot of the time it's been more than one all of my life. The first Murray family dog preceded me into the world and was later joined by succession of others, hamsters, fish, tortoises, I feel guilty still about the tortoises, stick insects, guinea pigs and rabbits as my animal loving parents presented very little resistance to enlarging the pet population of the house. My mother however did draw the line at rats and snakes I'm sorry to say. After a few short months without a pet when I started my postdoctoral degree made it clear to me that there was a hole in my life that only an animal could fill and we were joined by my first feline, a tortoise shell and white kitten called Topcat who brought home whole loads of mice she had dead corpses under my bed put them in my sports kit and eventually walked out of me because I got a new boyfriend whom she didn't like she never came back I never found out where she went my oldest child was named after a delightful little cat who was sadly killed on the road a couple of weeks before he was born at 18 months I must say that the cat's name was not Tiddles his name was Alex fortunately it might have been embarrassing for my son otherwise at 18 months my son advanced my campaign to a dog add a dog to the household by plaintively repeating I want a doggy until his father gave in then on to we had a succession of creatures dogs cats gerbils hamsters rabbits skinny fish guinea pigs fish daygrews and a horse pets contribute I believe to our mental and physical wellbeing but other than a feral tom kitten when we first lived in air who rightly decided that it might be a smart move to get himself adopted by us we choose to bring those pets into our lives and as Christine Grahame said we have responsibilities to ensure that the animal has the appropriate environment has the necessary exercise the appropriate diet and in many cases the companionship of other animals of its own species because many animals are unhappy without the companionship of their own species and apart from my fractured pelvis my daughter's broken finger and my friend's fractured vertebra all attributable to Twix the horse I am convinced that pets have and continue to make a positive contribution to my family's health my children will resilient to viruses and bacteria and lost little time off school and I attribute that to three things one is probably genetic the second is the fact that they were breastfed and the third being that they were we had pets because exposure to pets here and worse I'm sure helped prime their immune systems a little dirt after all does do no harm and pets also helped to introduce our children to the difficult issues in like death somewhere at home I still have the daughter of my younger son aged about seven at the time which he had written a little illustrated story but what he had done at the weekend and one entry contains a very detailed illustration of the death bed scene of the little feral kitten who adopted us a few years previously earlier my mother on the other hand will celebrate her 90th birthday next month and my father in his late 80s they insist on looking after our little dog Sylvia nanny we bought them for ourselves to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary and that's how they are so named but my parents look after them insist on looking after them when we write at work or away in locations which are not pet friendly people at their time of life sometimes feel that they have ceased to have a positive role in their families lives but my parents know that they continue to make an important contribution to our and our dogs lives long after their grandchildren have grown up and in addition to that my parents both had serious health issues in their 60s indeed my mother was not expected to live after an operation that she underwent had gone seriously wrong but both managed to pull through thanks I am certain in part and I'm sure in my mother's case her consultant actually commented on this it was due to have a lifetime of taking regular exercise and that included daily walking of the dogs and I'm sure that dogs actually helped to save my mother's life when she was 65 so despite the vets fees the broken bones the hairs on the carpet and indeed the grief we feel when they finally leave us pets can contribute so much to the lives of their owners that they are indeed well worth today's motion of celebration but most of all they are worth us taking our ownership of them very responsibly thank you very much and I now call Stuart Stevenson to be followed by Malcolm Chisholm thank you Presiding Officer and I congratulate Christine Graham both on securing the debate and arranging the spectacularly interesting and engaging display that we have in two locations in Hollywood I'm slightly worried that Malcolm and Donald my two cats are going to hold me to account for putting their photograph in without their permission but I guess I'll just need to live with that Winston Churchill as on so many other subjects said something to say on the subject of animals he said that dogs look up to us cats look down upon us but pigs are our equal he was a great fan of pigs I am clearly with millions of others a lower form of human human being bottom of the pecking hoarder certainly in our house and of course when Christine Graham said we're a wee bit higher up the evolutionary scale I'm not sure she's correct uh while the fruit fly has eight chromosomes uh man has 46 but her mac crabs of 254 uh the ophobio glosum ffern has two 768 but more fundamentally the oxytrisha trefalux which is a protozoan animal has 15600 chromosomes 2000 copies of each of them in a single cell perhaps that animal is so intelligent it doesn't engage with us we will never know it's not interested in the lower form of being that we are now the motion does talk about farmed animals and wild creatures and I don't think anybody's said much about wild creatures so far so I want to say just a few things about that where I live we've got badgers about 400 meters away foxes rodea we've had 20 of those at one time in the garden weasels I've seen a weasel drag a young rabbit about 10 times its size back to eat and of course that interloper that the normans brought about a thousand years ago rabbits and of course in the country we've also lots of farmed animals of one sort another every one of those farmed animals wild animals and our companion animals occupy important ecological niches and interact with each other uh alec ferguson quite rightly referred to hearing dogs and of course we've got dogs that help those without sight and we have dogs that look after people with failing mental faculties as well and keep them from danger so the animals are a very important part of many people's lives the widowed or deserted can have long conversations with our companions maintaining mental alertness and the daily walk with a dog maintains physical fitness in many of our older people a well cared well regarded animal companion who has been trained to understand proper relationships with humans boisterous yes biting no can gain just as we do we protect them from hunger disease debility and danger but we have duties to them as well we have to keep the sheep from the goats zikio 3417 makes reference to that in the bible many many years ago but i want to just say a word or two about one particular thing and that is our duty to neuter our cats and i speak in connection with the Scottish wildcat in particular because it's our failure to adequately neuter a higher proportion of our cats that is diluting our stock of Scottish wildcats to the point where there are fewer of them left that appear bred than even the threatened Bengal tiger let me just finally close by illustrating one business lady's attitude to her animals halfway between here and my home in Bamshire there is Peggy Scott's restaurant on the A90 few people unless they've talked to the owner will realise Don Scott always names her succession of businesses after her pets so Peggy Scott is actually a wee dug and he has his own restaurant thank you very much and now call Malcolm Chisholm Presiding Officer I'd like to congratulate Christine Grahame on bringing forward the motion although I do feel slightly uneasy following a farmer and four members who obviously have a massive experience of pets and other animals I myself have never owned a pet and have no background in relation to animals at all but I was struck by two two things in the motion firstly the positive role of pets in the lives of children and adults and I've certainly seen that just in recent years with my grandchildren and secondly the best possible welfare standards obviously I've always been concerned about preventing suffering to animals but many constituents also have written to me about those matters and I want to start by talking about that before talking briefly about adults and children and the positive role of pets in their lives now the constituents and the cabinet secretary will know because I've written to him about most of these matters have approached me about puppy farming about the sale of cats online about snares about wild animals and circuses and about CCTV and slaughterhouses that's all certainly within the last few months I think that last point reminds us that for most people animals cannot be seen as equivalent to human beings I respect obviously those who are vegetarians and who don't want to kill animals in any circumstances but for most of us we accept that we can't eat animals but clearly cruelty to them must always be avoided and we must always ensure that the best possible welfare standards are enforced. If I can just take the example of puppy farming about which I received a letter from the cabinet secretary I think just within the last few days I noted the briefing we got from one kind asking for a review of pet vending legislation and that does seem to me to be required as they say without a change in legislating quoting one kind this kind of farming which contributes all of the which contradicts all of the guiding principles of good animal welfare would perhaps continue as a profitable enterprise at the expense of animals life so I hope that that will be taken on board. Other issues are perhaps more tricky for the government I've noticed the government can't really make up its mind about wild animal and circuses but certainly some of my constituents have made up their minds about that and say that should be put a stop to. Snares I know is also controversial although it seems to me that we're one of the few European countries to allow it so I would support my constituents who want an end to that and it seems to me we should also have 24-hour security cameras and avatars I can't really see any argument against that now clearly the government has taken action as we remembered in the debate last week on microchipping at least it's proposed that and I imagine it will go ahead of that so that's an important animal welfare measure for dogs but as last week's debate reminded us there is also the issue of animals who behave in an antisocial way and we don't need to repeat the argument from last week but clearly we have to take action where animals are behaving in an antisocial way just as we do with human beings who are behaving similarly. Now only one minute left for the positive role of pets in the lives of children and adults it could have been mentioned in the debate in Loneliness yesterday because for that debate I read some research which was fairly extensive which showed that adults living alone without a pet were significantly lonelier than those living with one but let's just focus on children at the end because in a kind of way this is what has had a profound effect on my attitude towards animals in general and pets in particular because I've seen particularly the way in which my oldest granddaughter loves, cares and empathise with cats in general and her own cat in particular and that has really had quite a profound effect on me and has made me think about the very positive role that animals play in the lives of children mainly real animals but of course there's also animal toys there's also the fact that you can't avoid that animals are massively important in children's literature so it seems to me that although it is possible to love animals and not human beings in general a positive and caring attitude to animals will correlate with and encourage a positive and caring attitude towards human beings so I think that that is a very important dimension of this although clearly we must always remember that animals are different from human beings and we must respect animals for what they are many thanks and I now invite Richard Lochhead to respond to the debate cabinet secretary in around seven minutes please thank you firstly I want to thank my colleague Christon Graham for proposing today's motion and of course other colleagues as well who have contributed so ably to the debate this afternoon and I want to also welcome to the Parliament many members of the cross-party group and indeed our four-legged friends Royal, Briar and Kira who understand her in the gallery as well and perhaps we'll get a personal tour of the Parliament for Mr Q later on today and they can catch up for a bowl of water or something later also like Christon Graham I congratulate everyone who's contributed to the celebrating Scotland's animal week stalls that are in parliaments this week and anyone who's not the chance to go along of course we should do that I did not have the opportunity to submit a photograph and never get around to doing that unfortunately but I'll certainly update my cats back home that we were paying tribute to them today in parliaments and of course for the first time in many many decades I remembered Timothy the tortoise who was my first pet when I was a child so that brought back memories today as well but indeed all the anecdotes and stories have heard from various members today it does remind us that it is important and of course sometimes humbling to remember the many benefits that we do obtain from our relationship with animals and Christine and the cross-party group for animal welfare do sterling work to promote discussion information sharing and awareness raising of animal welfare issues of course ably supported by one kind and others so while this week's events are of course upbeat as we've just heard from many of the contributions most of the issues that the group do deal with are anything but animals are hugely important to Scotland for a range of reasons and the cross-party group has a critical role in reminding Parliament of our responsibility to ensure that they are properly looked after for example Scotland's animals helped to maintain and enhance a world famous landscapes in this country and Stuart Stevens and others refer to that and carefully managed grazing by cattle and sheep helps to maintain the the vast upland environment we have in this country to ensure a rich diversity of plants and wildlife and wild animals can also play a part in shaping landscape for example beavers recently the subject of a successful reintroduction trial in Scotland and they can have a beneficial effect by creating wetlands increasing biodiversity and even minimizing floods so when managed responsibly Scotland's animals contribute to a very healthy tourism sector a world-renowned livestock industry and a beautiful country for the people of Scotland to live and work in as well but of course many many people in Scotland as we have heard benefit from animals on a much more personal level not least the many pet owners that drive companionship and in some cases purpose from their animals there is growing evidence that animals have a therapeutic benefit for people's physical mental well-being and I think Elaine Murray and others refer to that including also helping people even with psychiatric illnesses as well and we I think that was reflected many members contributions the well-being benefits that companionship can bring more work is needed to improve our knowledge of this area however from studies to data appears that when employed in the correct manner and targeted the appropriate user group animals can contribute significantly to our well-being and quality of life and the national charity pets therapy already provide therapeutic visits from volunteers with their pet dogs and cats to places such as hospitals hospices nursing and care homes and special needs schools and of course we should also pay tribute to the thousands of volunteers who help animal welfare charities as well sure Christine Graham I think it'd be helpful if I may to add to that catalogue of helpful animals is in the prisons in Pullman prison the dog's trust have rescued staffy terriers which are get a bad reputation that's not deserved and there these young men actually care for them and they write diaries young men who would not bother to write about anything else and care for them until they found new homes cabinet secretary yeah that's a very good example indeed across these islands there are over 5000 active pets of therapy dogs and a small number of cats working to bring the opportunity to stroke hold and talk to a calm and friendly animal bringing that benefit to thousands of people in need of an emotional lift that sometimes only animal companionship can bring so there is of course no doubt of the huge benefits particularly of guide dogs the 520 blind or partial sighted owners in Scotland or indeed of hearing dogs for the death and I think it was perhaps alex vergason mentioned hearing dogs as well so the service that these dogs provide is impressive and of course crucial very crucial to many people's quality of life however perhaps even more remarkable is a recent small trial in Scotland of dogs as helpers to dementia patients by Alzheimer's Scotland and others the dogs helped with the daily routine reminding people to take medicines improved owners confidence helped them to socialise and offered reassurance in unfamiliar environments so that pilot was particularly successful and now a national programme of matching of dogs to people with dementia is now being rolled out across the country so that's good news indeed. Individuals however an individual responsibility is very very important in this debate is very important for the welfare of all these animals that provide all these benefits and animal welfare is immensely important to the people of Scotland and of course the government takes that very very seriously. The main legal provision for animal welfare in Scotland lies in the animal health and welfare Scotland act of 2006 which covers the welfare of all protected animals kept by people and as well as making the ill treatment of animals in the fence the act prevent places a clear duty of care and anyone responsible for an animal. There is of course much more specific legislation whole range of areas the breeding of dogs the sale of pets animal boarding performing animals zoo animals farm animals and their humane slaughter as well and some of that legislation is quite new for example the welfare of animals at time of killing Scotland regulations 2012 it is the first and currently only legislation across these islands that implements e rules on welfare at killing that come into force in the first of January 2013 so that is an issue we are taking seriously and again members mentioned that issue. Of course it's in the motive topic that some people would rather not think about however it is important and inevitable in a country with an outstanding reputation for producing high quality meat from our livestock with our excellent reputation for high health and welfare that it's inevitable that we have to take these debates very very seriously in Scotland. So that legislation also maintains Scotland's pre-existing higher welfare at slaughter standards we are we do benefit in this country from these higher welfare slaughter standards we should bear that in mind which of course helps Scotland to beat the forefront of animal welfare. I do recognise as many members mentioned that there are some areas where animal welfare legislation does need updated. I'm acutely aware that the pet animals act 1951 referred to by Christine Grahame and others does not include provisions for modern welfare issues such as internet sales or exotic pets. I'm also aware of the fact that we currently only have welfare legislation for the breeding of dogs leaving the breeding of other pet animals currently unregulated. So my officials have been meeting with representatives of the pet industry in recent months to gather initial views on these welfare issues and how they can be tackled and I urge one kind and parliamentary colleagues to note that we are already working on an initial review of these issues and options relating to pet animals. We will be discussing this matter further in the weeks and months ahead and of course other issues have just been consulted upon such as responsible dog ownership which Malcolm Chisholm and others referred to as well and the whole issue of microchipping and some other issues. I can tell the chamber there's been 2,500 responses to that consultation. That's a huge number and illustrates the strength of feeling over animal welfare issues and responsible dog ownership in this country. There's a whole lot of issues to take forward. We also have to recognise the role that animal welfare charities are playing in terms of education. The Scottish SPCA provides an excellent free prevention through education programme to Scotland's children in particular, encouraging them to treat animals with compassion and respect. As I reach a conclusion, I just want to say that we are very fortunate in this country that we do have so many people willing to donate time and money to help improve animal welfare. I think that we should all be proud to live in such a caring country. Animals are of course sentient beings as was discussed and should be given respect, care and compassion. We cannot ignore their huge contribution to people and their environment and, of course, it's right that we do celebrate that. Again, I congratulate Christine Grahame on this motion and all the efforts that everyone has put in to make sure that we do that in Parliament this week. I urge us all to continue to work together to ensure that we do have the best possible animal welfare standards in Scotland. Thank you very much Cabinet Secretary. That concludes Christine Grahame's debate on animal rights and human responsibilities and I now suspend this meeting of Parliament until 2.30pm.