Referring to the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, it states under section 19 that a person commits an offence if they cause a protected animal unnecessary suffering by an act, and the person knew, or ought to have reasonably have known, that the act would have caused suffering or be likely to do so.

As reference, a protected animal is described under section 17 as an animal which is commonly domesticated in the British Islands, under the control of man on a permanent or temporary basis, or not living in a wild state.

Now, the penalties for causing an offence under sections 19 (unnecessary suffering) and 23 (animal fighting) is imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to a fine exceeding £20,000 or both. The penalty for causing an offence for any other parts (covering mutilation, cruel operations, and administer of poisons etc) is imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to both.

Mutilation, cruel operations and administer of poisons etc is still causing an animal unnecessary suffering. To half the penalty because the suffering has been brought about in a different way is illogical.

Psychological studies have revealed that animal abuse is often a warning sign of serious emotional disturbance which can develop into extreme violence. It was found that 5% of U.S children had intentionally caused harm to an animal, compared to 10-25% of children at mental health clinics. It is also often the first sign of serious disturbance amongst killers. Councillors evaluated inmates for levels of aggression, it was found that amongst the most violent, 70% had serious and repeated animal abuse histories, compared to just 6% of those deemed as non-violent.

What sparked me to start this petition, was when a video of a kitten being burned alive appeared on my Facebook newsfeed. It was absolutely horrific to watch an innocent animal go through such visible pain and trauma. The fact that these boys filmed the act and posted it on the internet is clear indication to me that they were proud of what they did, and had no fear of any punishment. It made me angry that they had mindlessly killed this kitten for no good reason other than their own entertainment. It made me angry that they will get away with it, that they will go on to cause that fate to other poor animals.

The punishment in place for causing an offence under this Act is insufficient for the level of crime committed. There are harsher punishments for lesser crimes. The maximum sentence does not discourage people to commit the offence, and judging by the amount of video footage of animal abuse acts being carried out on websites such as Facebook, the amount of animals in rescue centres who have been abandoned, abused and/or used in dog fighting rings, as well as dogs being stolen for dog fighting; this is an ongoing problem. By not punishing animal abusers sufficiently, it is putting a potential risk on members on the public as many go on to commit violence on people.

I therefore urge Parliament to call on the Scottish Government to amend legislation for the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, recommending that 12 month imprisonment should be a minimum sentence. It may also be an idea to rehabilitate offenders as there is strong evidence to suggest that this is a deep rooted problem which should not be ignored. It is extremely important that this Act is reviewed, as it is not only important to protect animals, but to protect people.