Our Chief Executive Dr Matt Bond sat down recently with other pet keeping experts to discuss positive lists – AKA pet bans – and why they don’t work.
Matt joined Ruth MacDonald, who runs the Tropical Fishkeeping Facebook community and is the Chair of the Fish Group on the Companion Animal Sector Council, and Tony Wigley, of Responsible Reptile Keeping, to discuss why this subject is something people in the fish and reptile keeping communities need to get to grips with. You can watch their discussion below.
The election may be over is Scotland but we know that the campaign by SSPCA, OneKind and Born Free Foundation to get a positive/permitted list of pets is still high on their agenda with the new Parliament. We know recommendations likely to support the introduction of a positive list for pets is coming from the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission – which has already stated its support for restricting access to certain ‘exotic’ pets. And, despite representations from the trade bodies, the Commission remain firm in that stated position.
So we need the fish-keeping community and businesses – particularly in Scotland where the threat of a pet ban is most real – to start lobbying their new MSPs.
Here’s what to do:
- Contact your MSPs and ask where they stand on Positive/Permitted Lists for Pets. If you’re a business, why not invite them to visit you? Let them see how you run your business and invite your best customers to come along and share their passion! Find your local MSP and how to contact them here. Let OATA know what you’re doing so we can also follow up.
- Explain how responsible fish-keepers provide excellent standards of welfare and contribute to education, conservation, and local economies.
- Highlight concerns about enforcement costs, potential impacts on existing keepers, and the unintended consequences of restrictions that may not improve animal welfare.
- Encourage MSPs to engage directly with responsible keepers, breeders, rescue organisations, and industry experts, like OATA, before supporting any legislative changes.
- Sign the petition. We need to show the support there is to protecting pets!
Our politicians need to hear from the fish-keeping community – both businesses and hobbyists – to hear the other side to the story they are being peddled by anti-pet-keeping groups – before recommendations become policy proposals.
