Chamber and committees

What is the Scottish Government’s role in the annual review of frequency rates? How will the Scottish Parliament be able to scrutinise those decisions, which will impact on imports to Scotland?

I thank the panel for coming along to the meeting. I represent Argyll and Bute, which, as far as I am aware, does not have any foot packs or hunts. Following on from Jim Fairlie’s questions, and comments from Mike Flynn and Kirsty Jenkins, I am interested to hear more about welfare and farmers needing to protect their livelihoods. What are your thoughts on the proposals in the bill that would reduce hunting with dogs to hunting with no more than two dogs and that would bring in a licensing scheme? In your answer, will you speak about why you oppose hunting with dogs—I think that you have already touched on that—and give your thoughts on the two-dog limit and how that might be interpreted by the farmers whom I have described?

The only fox on Islay is the dead one in the museum.

I am interested in hearing a bit more about the issue of licences, which has already been touched on. What are your thoughts on licences being granted for two years for environmental purposes? I ask Duncan Orr-Ewing to start.

I am interested in the point that dogs are intelligent animals. If you are following a trail and a fox shows up, they are intelligent enough to chase it. That is perhaps one of the loopholes that the legislation is seeking to close.

It interests me that trail hunting has been banned in Wales and on National Trust land. Do you have any comments on what impact that has had?

It is fair to say that some of my farming constituents have raised with me issues around the pressures of work in that regard.

You have mentioned your code of conduct a couple of times. I am interested in the difference between a code of conduct and a licence. What are the penalties under your code of conduct?

Do you want to respond, Mr Macleod?

I was struck by the comment in your submission that

“There are several methods to control foxes but none of them are effective in all circumstances. The need for different approaches to management is therefore vital.”

You touched on that point in your responses to some of Mercedes Villalba’s questions, but do you have anything to add in that respect?

I find it difficult to listen to “humane” and “snare” in the same sentence. Can you explain a bit more about that?

Thank you.