Tories want law to protect police dogs

Police dogs and other service animals should be protected aginst injury under criminal law, the Scottish Conservatives have said.

The party’s justice spokesman Liam Kerr said the current law fails to fully protect police dogs and other service animals. The Tories have vowed to bring in a specific criminal offence of harming or killing a service animal, such as dogs or horses involved with the emergency services or military. Guide dogs and similar assistance animals could also be covered.

Mr Kerr launched the campaign following a visit to the police dog unit in Baluniefield, Dundee. He said: “Service animals are highly-trained members of Police Scotland and are repeatedly put in dangerous situations. We ask them to work for us and risk their lives to keep us safe, and yet the law does not fully protect them when they are hurt.”