Christine Grahame MSP’s bill would strengthen the regulation of breeding and selling or giving away dogs in Scotland and establish a more responsible approach to acquiring a puppy or dog.

It would require the Scottish government to make changes to the system for licensing dog breeding. The result would be that more breeders would need to have a licence.

The bill also requires the Scottish government to set up a puppy litter register. Any litters that are not born under a dog breeding licence, but which the litter owner wishes to sell or give away, must be registered.

Registration must be done before puppies can be advertised, sold or given away. The bill sets out what a person must do to register a litter of puppies. It will be an offence not to comply with the registration system.

There will be some flexibility for Scottish ministers to decide how to set up and operate the register.

The bill also requires the Scottish government to make and publish a code of practice. It sets out what the content of the code should be. The code should describe the process that is to be followed by a person who wants to sell or give away a puppy or dog and a person who wants to buy or take on a puppy or dog.