As membership of the European Bird Census (EBC) is not limited to EU members, the Scottish Government does not envisage Brexit having any impact on the European Bird Census (EBC) data gathering and sharing.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has an agreement with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to continue to contribute to the funding of bird censuses in Scotland until at least 2021. This data will form part of the European Bird Census.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government or Police Scotland.

The wildlife Special Constable pilot scheme was launched in March 2018 and will conclude at the end of March 2019. Following the conclusion of the pilot an evaluation of the scheme and the contribution made by Special Constables in the Cairngorms National Park, will be undertaken by the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and the Cairngorms National Park Authority.

The Scottish Government was sorry to hear of the deaths of four horses at Musselburgh Racecourse at a meeting on 3 December 2018. The Scottish Government takes the welfare of all animals very seriously; and is committed to the highest possible standards of welfare for all equines.

The Scottish Government has not held any discussions with the management at Musselburgh Racecourse or Scotland’s other racecourses regarding animal welfare at meetings following this incident.

Horse racing in Scotland is governed and regulated by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). The BHA ensures racehorse welfare, including compliance with all aspects of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) 2006 Act, through its Rules of Racing, the licensing and inspection of participants, education, training and monitoring.

The Scottish Government is aware that the BHA is carrying out a full investigation of the incident at Musselburgh and will monitor the findings of the BHA investigation upon their publication.

Horse racing in Scotland is governed and regulated by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) ( http://www.britishhorseracing.com ). The BHA ensures racehorse welfare, including compliance with all aspects of the 2006 Act, through its Rules of Racing, the licensing and inspection of participants, education, training and monitoring. The BHA also works closely with a range of animal welfare organisations such as World Horse Welfare to maintain and promote horse welfare.

The BHA also seeks to minimise the risk of injury and fatalities to thoroughbred horses on racecourses, and records and analyses injuries sustained with a view to future prevention.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to hold an inquiry into animal welfare in the horseracing industry in Scotland.

Horse racing in Scotland is governed and regulated by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). The BHA ensures racehorse welfare, including compliance with all aspects of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) 2006 Act, through its Rules of Racing, the licensing and inspection of participants, education, training and monitoring.

The BHA also works closely with a range of animal welfare organisations such as World Horse Welfare to maintain and promote horse welfare. The BHA also seeks to minimise the risk of injury and fatalities to thoroughbred horses on racecourses, and records and analyses injuries sustained with a view to future prevention.

The Scottish SPCA work in conjunction with the BHA and racecourse officials to ensure that welfare standards for racehorses in Scotland are maintained, however they do not have a responsibility for oversight of racehorse welfare in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is aware of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) review of the 2018 Cheltenham Festival and the recommendations included in their report. The regulation of racecourses and horseracing in Scotland is the responsibility of the BHA. The Scottish Government expects the BHA to apply their recommendations to racecourses in Scotland and will monitor the situation as it progresses.

Horseracing is not specifically mentioned in the Scottish Government Code of Practice for the Welfare of Equidae. However, Paragraph 3 of the Code notes that the “Code covers all domesticated equidae for which a person is responsible, including all horses, ponies, donkeys and hybrids” meaning that the provisions of the Code would be equally applicable to racehorses as they would to other domesticated horses.

As agreed with Mr Ruskell, based on an average over a four-week period commencing on 7 January 2019, the following number of MSPs used the car park as follows: (a) 38 MSPs three times a week or more, (b) 8 MSPs twice a week, (c) 13 MSPs once a week, (d) 5 MSPs less than once a week and 65 MSPs never used the car park.  

As agreed with Mr Ruskell, based over a four-week period commencing 7 January 2019, the one- week average of car park spaces allocated are:

1. 154 MSPs
2. 113 Staff
3. 22 MSP Staff