Chamber and committees

Okay. My questions are on climate change. It has been said that climate change is bringing wildlife into closer proximity to human settlements, which increases the likelihood of diseases such as Covid-19 among human populations. I would be interested in hearing whether there is a similar increased risk with diseases that affect animals, such as avian flu.

My questions are on a new topic.

My question around enforcement was also probably covered earlier by Karen Adam.

In certain circumstances, if a group of people are organising an event, they are required to notify the police. At last week’s round-table meeting, we spoke briefly about the possibility of a kind of voluntary notification for people who are concerned about potential vexatious allegations. They could self-report ahead of time, to make the local police aware of their activities, which would facilitate any sort of drop-in. Would the Scottish Government look at facilitating a measure such as that in guidance later on, rather than on the face of the bill? Could you outline any other measures to aid enforcement that you are considering?

Thank you for your time today, minister. I have a quick follow-up question on the discussion that you had with Alasdair Allan earlier about the definition of “pack”. I believe that you said that, for the purposes of the bill, more than two dogs would be taken to be a pack. Is the number of dogs the only factor in the definition of a pack, or will activity also be a consideration?

Why are we seeing such different numbers in different parts of the UK? To what extent is that down to more effective biosecurity measures, the density of the population of birds or—and I do not know whether this applies in this case as it did with Covid—our being behind the curve, which means that it will be coming here, too?

You have said that, in some premises where the disease has been identified, biosecurity lapses have been identified, too. What steps are available to the Scottish Government to bring those premises up to standard? How are those premises being supported to improve their biosecurity?

Minister, you mentioned earlier that the fear of being chased is part of the animal welfare concern, and I understand that the aim of the bill is to balance animal welfare with wildlife control. Why is there an exception for hunting with dogs in section 6, where the primary purpose is sport rather than wildlife control? How does the inclusion of that exception serve that balance?

I have a question about the effect of the disease on different types of birds. Is the virus equally lethal to wild birds and poultry? If it is more lethal to one than the other, is that to do with breeding, the birds’ immune systems or the use of antibiotics? Why does the virus have a different impact on different birds?

What are the long-term measures or mitigations that the Government is looking at to make our animal populations more resilient to climate change?

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address high private sector rents. (S6O-01603)