Jane Smith is a psychotherapist and deputy leader of Animal Welfare Party.

Full statement

In 2017 she became the party’s first-ever councillor and was re-elected in 2019, spearheading local initiatives around environment, wildlife, companion animals and social justice.

Thank to Jane's work there, Alsager was the first UK town to request wildlife tunnels in every planning application; the first Cheshire town to declare climate emergency; and the first UK town to implement its own Pollination Action Plan. Jane has a proven track record of delivering positive change.

Jane co-leads the campaign to end the live imports of endangered macaque monkeys through Manchester Airport destined for vivisection labs nationwide, including Scotland, as well as running a badger protection group and a migratory toad crossing numbering 85 volunteers. She is an adoptive mother of three and has two rescue dogs.

Jane is happy to represent Animal Welfare Party on the party's list for the Edinburgh & Lothians East region and the party's vision for Scotland which includes:

Leading on ending animal testing by using all levers to promote the development of animal-free science in Scotland

Improving human health, saving vital NHS funds & acting on climate breakdown by promoting a transition to healthy & sustainable plant-based diets

Introducing Animal Welfare & Sentience into the Scottish school curriculum

Strengthening existing farmed animal welfare legislation to include farmed fish & crustaceans and halting salmon farm expansion

Prioritising companion animal welfare by stopping the sale of animals online & in shops, phasing out the exotic pet trade and making ‘pet theft’ a specific offence

Ending the guga hunt and improving protections for all Scottish seabirds

Urgent creation of affordable, social homes whilst ensuring mandatory consideration for wild animals & their habitats in planning legislation

Banning the use of farrowing crates for pigs and cages for laying hens & gamebirds

Outlawing electric shock collars for Scotland’s dogs and ending breed-specific legislation

Leading on alternatives to fireworks displays such as laser, drone & light shows, reducing distress for people & animals

During this election campaign, Animal Welfare Party has chosen to highlight the issue of animal use in science in Scotland and, in particular, the use of endangered, long-tailed macaques.

AWP understands that, every month, hundreds of endangered monkeys are being flown into the UK via Manchester Airport as ‘live imports’ destined for vivisection laboratories across the UK, including laboratories in Scotland. The long-tailed macaques, descendants of wild-caught animals, are raised in breeding facilities overseas before enduring gruelling flights into Manchester and onward journeys by road.

Since 2022, long-tailed macaques have been designated an Endangered species by the IUCN Red List, a critical inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of species.

Animal Welfare Party has long called for an end to these ‘flights of misery’, maintaining that the UK should close all ports to the import of live animals for the purpose of animal testing.

We believe that the import of and use of macaques for scientific procedures is something that runs counter to the wishes of citizens in Scotland and that this issue must be one that is debated during the Scottish Parliament Election campaign. We maintain that the Scottish Government can and must use all levers at its disposal to show leadership on ending animal use and champion the development of animal-free science.