Scottish and Welsh Parliamentary Elections – what they mean for wildlife

Elections for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd will take place on 7th May 2026, and we need to ensure that wildlife protection and the welfare of wild animals are given a high priority through the election campaign and are firmly on the agenda of the newly elected national governments. 

At Born Free we published our manifestos for the Scottish and Welsh elections back in the Autumn. These documents set out our priorities for the political parties and their candidates, for both free-living and captive wildlife in Scotland and Wales, and for the approach we would like these jurisdictions to take to protect wildlife overseas. Our polling evidence clearly shows that the overwhelming majority of the public across the UK strongly support our priorities for greater protection for wildlife and higher animal welfare standards. 

WRITE TO YOUR LOCAL CANDIDATES 

While there have been changes to laws and policies over recent years that place Scotland and Wales ahead of other parts of the UK nations, such as improving the regulation of hunting and the banning of snares, animal suffering and destruction continues on a massive scale.  

For example, it is estimated that as much as 18% of the land in Scotland is primarily managed for grouse shooting, with other wild animals such as foxes and crows being routinely killed to maximise the number of birds that can be shot for pleasure. And in Wales, the timeline for enacting legislation designed to protect Welsh biodiversity has slipped, and according to recent reports legally binding targets for wildlife recovery are unlikely to be in force until around 2029. Meanwhile, native wildlife in both countries continues to decline. 

And it’s not just the future of free-living wildlife that is at risk. Wild animals are also suffering in poorly regulated captive environments. For example, outdated legislation still allows primates and other exotic wild animals to be kept in inappropriate domestic settings, and permits the exploitation of wild animals for public performances with little meaningful regulation or oversight.  

These are all vitally important issues, and we need to ensure they are prioritised by the new governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff after the elections. 

While much of the discourse during the election campaigns will rightly focus on the big economic and social issues facing residents in Scotland and Wales, such as the cost of living, the NHS and social care, it’s vital that we don’t let wildlife protection and animal welfare fall off the political agenda.  

Animals don’t have votes, but you do. With our biodiversity in crisis across the globe, and with the UK being recognised as one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries, we must make it clear to all our political candidates that wild animals matter, and that Britain really is a nation of animal lovers. 

If you are a resident in Scotland or Wales, please consider writing to your local prospective parliamentary candidates using the link below.