Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson also refuted a UK ban after a series of feline welfare proposals prompted outrage from pet lovers. Scotland’s first minister and the UK prime minster’s official spokesperson have been forced to deny plans to ban cat ownership in Scotland after a flurry of media interest in a series of feline welfare proposals prompted outrage from pet lovers. The escalating concerns were prompted by media coverage of a report for the Scottish government by the independent Scottish Animal Welfare Commission, which published its recommendations on responsible domestic cat ownership last Monday.

Among a suite of proposals which included encouraging vaccination and neutering, the report also suggested that consideration be given to banning cat ownership in selected rural areas that were also home to red-listed bird species. It is estimated that domestic cats kill 27 million birds in the UK each year. This swiftly morphed online into the unfounded claim that the Scottish government were about to ban cats from the country, which SNP leader John Swinney was forced to deny.

The story quickly gained traction, with former Labour shadow chancellor Ed Balls expressing his shock on Good Morning Britain and asking: “Has the world gone mad?”. A clearly exasperated Swinney clarified to Bauer Radio on Monday afternoon: “There’s a report being produced by an external organisation, which has come into the government for consideration. Let me just clear this up today. The government’s not going to be banning cats or restricting cats. We have no intention of doing so and we’ll not be doing it.”.

The commission’s report references other jurisdictions where restrictions on cat ownership exist in order to protect local wildlife, ranging from “keeping cats indoors at all times, to allowing them outside only during the day, or only on a leash, or in a secure outdoor run”. But it goes on to acknowledge preventing free access to the outdoors has a significant impact on feline welfare. Ultimately it suggests that “new housing developments in rural areas could have a stipulation that cats may not be kept in conservation-sensitive areas/other areas that have not had high levels of predation, especially with red-listed or amber-listed birds/other species”.

Asked about the proposals and if the UK government might follow suit, Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson expressed some puzzlement. “I don’t think we have any plans to ban people from owning cats,” he said. When told the policy was just about only allowing cats outside on leads, he added: “No plans for leads.”. Alice Palombo of the charity Cat Protection told the Mail on Sunday, which published the original article on the mooted cat ban, that these “highly independent animals” did not like to be restrained on a lead and could suffer stress-related problems if kept permanently indoors.