RSPCAThe maximum 12-month prison sentence for animal cruelty is one of the lowest in Europe
The maximum 12-month prison sentence for animal cruelty is one of the lowest in Europe.
Under current laws, offenders could get more time behind bars for dumping litter than they would for torturing or -killing an animal. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, one of Britain’s best-known animal charities, is now calling on the public and politicians to join the campaign for stricter -sentences.
The maximum jail term for animal cruelty in Ireland and Northern Ireland is five years, comparable with much of the US, Australia and Canada.
Only a handful of nations, including England and Wales, have shorter sentences than Scotland.
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Scots like to see justice be done and play a part in righting some of society’s wrongs
Dee McIntosh – Battersea director
In 2016, the Scottish SPCA received 246,964 calls to its animal helpline and 81 offenders were convicted of cruelty and welfare offences under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.
Battersea director Dee McIntosh said: “Scots like to see justice be done and play a part in righting some of society’s wrongs. Battersea believes this can only help to build the momentum to get the law changed in Scotland to five years for animal cruelty.
“We now need all of Scotland’s politicians to make this change.”
The charity is appealing to Scots to contact their MSPs to call for the 12-month maximum sentence to be increased to five years for the most serious animal cruelty offences.
GETTY – STOCK IMAGEThe charity is appealing to Scots to call for the maximum sentence to be increased
Ms McIntosh added: “Scots may remember the horrific photographs of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier tied to a piece of concrete and left to drown in a -Lanarkshire pond in 2015. Nobody was convicted of that dreadful offence and even if they had been, is it right that they would have received less time in prison for drowning that poor dog than for dumping commercial litter?”
A new report from the charity highlights other examples of animal cruelty, including a man who admitted torturing his pet cat to death last year.
Craig Mills, of Lumphinnans, Fife, was filmed beating and biting the animal, but was sentenced to just eight months in prison. The sheriff called his actions “disgraceful” and said he wanted to impose the maximum 12-month sentence but the offender’s guilty plea forced him to reduce it.
It also features the case where Scottish SPCA inspectors found two badly injured dogs with multiple puncture wounds and scars along with dog fighting tools, DIY medical equipment and fight records at a house in Ayrshire.SUBSCRIBE
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The offender was jailed for eight months and banned from keeping animals for life.
He had moved to Scotland a year after getting a six-month suspended jail sentence and 10-year ban from keeping animals for dog fighting offences in England.
Ms McIntosh said: “Terrible cases like these show that the Scottish courts are doing their best to hand down the toughest sentences they can but the powers currently available to them make it impossible for the punishment to fit the crime.
“Battersea believes it’s time for a change north and south of the Border. We’ve been campaigning for a five-year sentence in England and Wales, where courts can only give an offender six months in prison. Scotland has an impressive track record of changing laws on key issues ahead of some other nations – let’s ask MSPs to do it for animal cruelty.”
GETTY – STOCK IMAGEA new report highlights other examples of animal cruelty
Rona Mackay, SNP MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden and Deputy Convener of the Holyrood Justice Committee, is one of the politicians supporting the campaign.
She said: “We need to send out a strong message that these vile crimes against defenceless animals are unacceptable, and we need to put it into perspective of all types of violent crime.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We recently announced a range of measures to protect animal welfare, including reviewing the penalties available for animal welfare offences.”
Charities including the Scottish SPCA, Cats Protection, Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home, Blue Cross and the PDSA helped Battersea prepare the report.
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