Chamber and committees

The review of Community Right to Buy concluded at the end of 2025 and the previous Cabinet Secretary accepted those recommendations in full.

The Government is currently exploring legislative options to take forward the recommendations in light of manifesto commitments. Where legislation isn’t required, work is already underway with stakeholders to maximise progress in the meantime.

The Scottish Government does not plan to undertake a public consultation exercise on its draft conservation commitment report (CCR) to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO). We continue to engage with stakeholders, including the Wild Salmon Strategy Delivery Group on the development of the CCR and remain committed to delivery by the end of November deadline.

The Scottish Government is working with Defra and the Welsh Government on producing guidance on the welfare of decapods at the time of killing. We are also committed to undertaking a gap analysis in partnership with Defra to identify knowledge and evidence gaps, reviewing current evidence and to continuing our engagement with relevant stakeholders to explore how best to improve decapod welfare.

To date, no consideration has been given to the introduction of such a code. The Scottish Government has, however, committed to continue to examine the evidence and need for future measures, regulatory or otherwise, to improve the welfare protections for decapods.

To date, no assessment has been undertaken. In its statutory review of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) Act 2020 the Scottish Government committed to undertaking, in collaboration with Defra and other devolved administrations, a gap analysis to identify the specific welfare challenges faced by decapods (including live transportation), what evidence there is to inform potential solutions to these challenges and where further research may be needed.

Very little routine killing of male chicks takes place in Scotland, with the main commercial hatcheries supplying Scotland’s egg industry being located in England. The current methods of killing chicks, such as Maceration/Instantaneous Mechanical Destruction, are considered to be acceptable by the Humane Slaughter Association and we will continue to work with industry to ensure that the current regulations still meet their objectives.

The Scottish Government takes the welfare of animals at slaughter very seriously, including that of male chicks. The current methods of killing chicks, such as Maceration/Instantaneous Mechanical Destruction, are considered to be acceptable by the Humane Slaughter Association and we will continue to work with industry to ensure that the current regulations still meet their objectives.

No discussions have been had at this time. We will, however, continue working with industry and to review updated scientific evidence in order to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare are met.

The Scottish Government recognised in its statutory review of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) Act 2020 that decapods are recognised as sentient; currently have no general welfare protection under the 2006 Act; and that this is an area for future policy consideration. We further recognise the position of the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission that future policy development should consider the welfare implications for all sentient animals, including decapods and cephalopods.

The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government to develop Guidance for the decapod welfare at time of killing. In order to inform the development of this Guidance we have collectively met with industry bodies including Seafish, the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) and other organisations which developed an industry Code of Practice for handling and despatch of decapods, as well as with NGOs including Crustacean Compassion.