Rights and LimitsSomeone at your doorThe SSPCA, and other callers who are not police, in Scotland
The SSPCA, and other callers who are not police, in Scotland
What you must do, and what you can refuse
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You must
Refusing is a criminal offence.
Not intentionally obstruct a person exercising a relevant power under this Act.
Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, Sch.1 para.14(2)
“A person commits an offence if the person intentionally obstructs a person in the exercise of a relevant power.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
Ask whether the caller has actually been appointed or authorised as an "inspector" — under this Act that means appointed by the Scottish Ministers, or authorised by them, or appointed by a local authority, for the specific provision in question, not simply someone who works for an animal charity.
Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, s.49(2)
“an "inspector" is, in the context of any particular provision, a person— appointed as an inspector by the Scottish Ministers, or authorised by them, for the purposes of the provision, or— appointed as an inspector by a local authority for the purposes of the provision”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
The power to enter premises without a warrant, whether to help a suffering animal or to investigate a suspected offence, does not extend to domestic premises — premises used exclusively as a dwelling-house, and land or structures usually enjoyed with it.
Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, Sch.1 para.2(1), (3) and (4)
“A sheriff or justice of the peace may grant a warrant under this sub-paragraph if satisfied— that there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is at premises a protected animal which— is suffering, or— is likely to suffer if its circumstances do not change — An inspector or a constable may— enter and search premises for the purpose of exercising any power conferred by sections 32 and 35, and— do so without a warrant under sub-paragraph (1), if it appears that immediate entry is appropriate in the interests of an animal — Sub-paragraph (3) does not apply in relation to domestic premises.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-31
A different Act, not a Scottish copy of the English one
Animal welfare is devolved. The statute that applies here is the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 — a separate Act of the Scottish Parliament from the Animal Welfare Act 2006 that covers England and Wales, with its own numbering and, in places, its own wording.
Under this Act, an “inspector” is a person appointed as an inspector by the Scottish Ministers, or authorised by them, for the purposes of the relevant provision, or appointed as an inspector by a local authority for that purpose. As in England and Wales, this is a status that has to actually attach to the individual concerned — a uniform or a branded vehicle does not itself establish it. This page does not state whether SSPCA officers hold that appointment, because that is a fact about specific individuals and specific authorisations, not something the Act itself sets out; asking the caller directly, and asking to see the appointment, is the way to find out.
Entering a private home still needs more, even for a genuine inspector
Even where someone genuinely holds inspector or constable status, the power to enter and search premises without a warrant to help a suffering animal does not extend to “domestic premises” — defined here as premises used exclusively as a dwelling-house, together with any land or structure usually enjoyed with the house. The equivalent power to enter and inspect premises where an offence is suspected carries the same exclusion for domestic premises.
To get past that, a sheriff or justice of the peace — a wider range of authorities than the justice-of-the-peace-only route in England and Wales — has to grant a warrant, and can only do so once satisfied there are reasonable grounds for believing a protected animal is on the premises and suffering, or likely to.
Obstruction is still an offence
Where an inspector or constable genuinely is exercising a power under this Act — for example, executing a warrant, or acting under the no-warrant emergency route outside a home — intentionally obstructing them is itself an offence.
That offence is tied to a “relevant power” actually being exercised. Declining to let in someone who has not established that they hold inspector status, or who is trying to enter domestic premises without a warrant, is a different situation from obstructing a power that genuinely applies.
Last reviewed 2026-08-31. Next review due 2027-02-28. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.