Dog and cat home calls on Scots to seek higher sentences for cruelty

An animal charity is calling for MSPS and the Scottish public to back its campaign for tougher punishments for animal cruelty.

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home said Scotland’s maximum 12-month prison sentence for the worst cases of animal cruelty is one of the lowest in Europe.

Only a few countries have lower sentences – including England and Wales, where the maximum is six months.

The animal home wants the law to be changed to bring it in line with current legislation in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, where the maximum is five years.

SNP MSP Rona Mackay, justice committee deputy convener, said: “I am very much 0 Rona Mackay: ‘We need to send out a strong message’ in favour of exploring opportunities to increase sentencing for those charged with crimes of cruelty to animals.

“We need to send out a strong message these vile crimes against defenceless animals are unacceptable and we need to put it into perspective of all types of violent crime.”

Battersea director Dee Mcintosh said: “We now need all of Scotland’s politicians to make this change.”

Speaking of the case of a Staffordshire Terrier being tied to concrete and left to drown in a Lanarkshire pond in 2015, she said: “Nobody was convicted and even if they had been, is it right they would have received less time in prison for drowning that poor dog than for dumping commercial litter?”

She also highlighted the case of a man who admitted torturing his cat to death and was jailed for eight months as the sheriff was unable to impose the maximum year-long sentence due to the required reduction for a guilty plea.

Ms Mcintosh added: “Scotland has an impressive track record of changing its laws on key issues ahead of some other nations.”