The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 2361 contributions
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 21 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
Will the member give way on that point?
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 21 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
The minister has just mentioned that the UK Government has delayed its clean heat market mechanism, which is a scheme that uses reserved powers to regulate the industry to increase the installations that we desperately need. That delay came after months of briefing and counter-briefing on whether the scheme was to be scrapped altogether. The minister has just highlighted the need for certainty and clarity in regulation. Does he feel that the UK Government is really providing that?
Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: 21 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
I do not know whether Colin Smyth has recognised that the Greens are now a party of government. We have been influencing and working on the bill for some time, including in respect of the important provision of SSPCA powers that probably would not be in the bill had it not been for the Bute house agreement and the amazing work that the Government has done on the back of that.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 20 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
You must surely know how many dogs have gone through your kennels in recent years. You have 40 now, so how many were there two years ago? How many dogs have been moved on over that time? We need to get a sense of the throughput of dogs.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 20 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
Of the dogs that you pass on—you say that that is about 10 a year—how many have injuries? Do they all have injuries, or are some of them just too old and not fast enough?
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 20 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
Your opinion differs from that of the vets and cardiovascular specialists.
The GBGB figures show that there are also injuries and deaths at the track. Would you consider that level of injuries and deaths to be acceptable? Is that an acceptable risk for the dogs?
10:30Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 20 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
The only way to get zero injuries and fatalities would be if we did not race the dogs on a curved track at 40mph.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 20 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
Okay. I have a final set of questions about the number of dogs that are involved. George said earlier that he currently kennels 40 dogs. What is the throughput of dogs? How long would you normally keep a greyhound for? You mentioned that some dogs have become your family pets and are now living on the sofa. How many dogs come through the kennels from year to year? How many have come through your kennels in the past five years?
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 20 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
What is the length of a racing greyhound’s career? Is it a couple of years? Is it three to four years?
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 20 March 2024
Mark Ruskell
So, the dog is fit for rehoming but not fit for racing.