Question reference: S6W-08737
- Asked by: Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 26 May 2022
-
Current status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 1 June 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the guidance to the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 stating that feral sheep, goats and ponies are "protected animals" under the Act on account of domestication making them permanently reliant on humans, whether the Soay and Boreray sheep of St Kilda are covered by the Act, and, if not, for what reason; on what date it was determined that this should be the case, and what its position is on any impact that this will have for the protection of other feral animals in Scotland.
Answer
Animals protected under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 are defined as those that are: (a) of a kind which is commonly domesticated in the British Islands; (b) under the control of man on a permanent or temporary basis; or (c) not living in a wild state.
The Scottish Government considers that the sheep on St Kilda, for the purposes of welfare legislation, should be regarded in the same way as an unowned and unmanaged population of wild deer or other wild animals. This position was first communicated in correspondence in February 2020, and was the Scottish Government position prior to that date.