End of year highlights: 2024 animal welfare achievements 17-12-24

2024 was a landmark year for us. We celebrated significant victories, including a ban on the use of snares and a proposal to end greyhound racing in Scotland.  

We are thrilled to have contributed to stronger animal protection laws, not just in Scotland, but across the UK and Europe.

We’re excited to share our highlights from this remarkable year. 

A ban on snares 

March was a monumental month as the Scottish Government passed the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, which would ban the use of snares in Scotland. 

The ban then came into force on the 25th of November, where we celebrated outside the Scottish Parliament, alongside 11 supportive MSPs and a sign that read ‘Welcome to Scotland, a snare-free country’. 

See our campaign highlights

OneKind’s Patron, Wildlife TV Presenter and Conservationist, Chris Packham, said at the time:   

"The only thing snares were protecting was the cruellest parts of the shooting industry. Today is a big win for Scotland, for compassion and for common sense, but most importantly a win for our severely declining wildlife ... Huge thanks to OneKind, a host of other welfare organisations, the Scottish public and ministers - we must all take bolder, unified action to stop the relentless war on nature." 

We handed in our open letter to end greyhound racing to Parliament

In February, we handed in our Unbound the Greyhound open letter to the Scottish Parliament, urging them to put an end to greyhound racing in Scotland.  

Unbound the Greyhound coalition members, 14 four-legged campaigners rescued from the greyhound racing industry, and 10 supportive MSPs joined together outside the Parliament to call on the Scottish Government to put an end to this dying industry.  

See more of the day 

Our open letter, which secured an incredible 22,655 signatures, was given to Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Jim Fairlie, for consideration.  

Signatories to the open letter included celebrities such as TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham, actor Peter Egan, and historian and broadcaster, David Olusoga. 

Mark Ruskell MSP brought a proposed Bill to end greyhound racing 

We were thrilled when, within less than a year of us launching the Unbound the Greyhound campaign coalition, Mark Ruskell MSP brought a proposed bill to end greyhound racing in Scotland. 

The Proposed Bill to Ban Greyhound Racing (Scotland) secured the necessary cross-party support from MSPs in just 24 hours, which now means that Mark Ruskell MSP has the right to introduce the Bill to the Scottish Parliament. 

Read more about the Bill’s public support 

An incredible 86% of those that responded to the consultation for the Bill supported the proposed ban on greyhound racing. Further, an additional 9,505 people expressed their support of the proposed ban by participating in our Unbound the Greyhound public pledge.

Unbound the Greyhound campaign film projected onto London’s Piccadilly Lights

In November, our Unbound the Greyhound coalition film to end greyhound racing in Scotland was projected onto London’s Piccadilly Lights - Europe's biggest screen!  

See the projection

As the winner of the highly coveted animal welfare category at the world’s largest sustainability festival, the 2024 Big Syn International Film Festival, a snippet of our film was projected in one of London’s busiest spots on the 14th of November, to the support and cheers of scores of onlookers. 

The Festival is the world’s biggest sustainability film festival, reaching over 50 million in 120 countries. The Grandy Jury comprised of OSCAR, BAFTA and EMMY award-winners and leaders from sustainability, business, media and policy.

Unbound the Greyhound won gold 

In February, OneKind was delighted to accept a gold People’s Choice award at the prestigious Smiley Charity Film Awards for the Unbound the Greyhound campaign video.  

Read more on the ceremony 

We were thrilled to be invited to the star-studded ceremony at the Odeon Luxe in London’s Leicester Square. Hosted by comedian and actor, Ellie Taylor, the event saw 500 charities come together for a night to celebrate filmmaking within the third sector. An additional 250,000 people tuned in to watch the event live.

The winners of the People’s Choice Awards were decided solely by the public vote, and we are so grateful to every person that took the time to vote for the Unbound the Greyhound campaign video.

Stand Up for Pigs in Parliament 

In January 2024, we commenced a three-day long exhibition at the Scottish Parliament. Our replica of a farrowing crate allowed MSPs to experience just how confining these cages are.  

Surrounding the replica farrowing crate, we had visuals of mother pigs in farrowing crates, alongside text detailing suffering that a mother pigs may endure, including stress, frustration, and sores on her skin. 

See more of the exhibition 

We spoke with 29 MSPs from across all five main political parties, former Minister for Energy and Environment Gillian Martin and many MSP staff members. Our conversations were very productive, with many MSPs supportive of our campaign. 

The Stand Up for Pigs exhibition stall was kindly sponsored by Colin Smyth MSP and we are incredibly grateful for his support.

We protested for pigs in Edinburgh

In July, we took to the streets of Edinburgh to advocate for a ban on farrowing crates in Scotland. 

With our dedicated volunteers, we assembled on the busy city centre Princes Street, showcasing a life-sized replica of a farrowing crate, an extensive information board, pig masks, and placards to draw attention to the welfare issues associated with farrowing crates. 

See more of the day

Our group engaged with passersby, raising awareness about the cruelty of farrowing crates, garnering public support, and even securing media coverage for the demonstration by The Herald and Third Force News. 

OneKind Campaigner, Eve Massie Bishop, said of the day:  

“Five years ago, we demonstrated for a ban on cages for egg-laying hens and farrowing crates for mother pigs in this very exact spot.  

“People often assume that these cages aren’t in use in Scotland, and sadly that is just not the case. Indeed, many of the passers-by we spoke to today were appalled that these cages are still legal in Scotland.”

44 events ceased using reindeer in Christmas celebrations 

In January, we were delighted to share the news that 44 events that used live animals between 2018-2022 held animal-free Christmas celebrations in 2023.  

In addition, 109 events that used live animals between 2018-2022 did not explicitly confirm themselves that their events were animal-free this year, but they did not advertise the use of animals, nor did it appear that they used animals.

These stats come as a result of our annual coalition work with Animal Aid, Born Free and Freedom for Animals, to put an end to live reindeer displays across the UK. 

This year, 21 organisations also signed onto our coalition open letter that we sent to hundreds of event organisers throughout the UK, asking them to cease the use of live reindeer in their Christmas celebrations. 

Read the open letter 

Our supporters also reached out to venues across the UK that were planning to exhibit reindeer, urging them to reconsider due to animal welfare concerns. As a result, several events decided to cancel their use of reindeer this year. 

Unbound the Greyhound campaign shortlisted at Eurogroup for Animals conference 

We were thrilled to head out to Brussels in October to join the Eurogroup for Animals’ 2024 conference.  

We were invited to present our Unbound the Greyhound campaign, as it was 1 of 5 campaigns shortlisted for the Eurogroup for Animals Campaign Award. More than 200 animal advocates from across Europe were in attendance, with charities from Italy, Sweden, Germany and Belgium also presenting on the day.  

Learn more about the work of Eurogroup 

After the conference, we assembled outside the European Commission with member organisations to urge the Commission to implement the animal welfare proposal.  

In the past term, the European Commission has committed to revising the EU animal welfare legislation, regulating the keeping of animals, transport, slaughter and labelling. This is long overdue.

We marched for wildlife in London

We were thrilled to participate in the Restore Nature Now march, Chris Packham’s landmark event in London on June 22nd, calling on all politicians to take bold action for nature. The march was particularly well timed, being prior to the General Election.

Over 60,000 people came together to march, speak, dance, and sing, with countless others supporting from home. The event was a vibrant spectacle of unity, featuring flags, towering model birds and animals, and a warm, family-friendly atmosphere. 

During the event, we had the opportunity to be interviewed about our animal welfare work, ensuring that animal voices were part of the conversation. It’s crucial to remember that while we often focus on the positive impact nature has on us, we must also consider the necessity of flourishing ecosystems for animals - a perspective that can sometimes be overlooked.

9,000+ wrote to the Scottish Government

This year, more than 9,000 emails were sent by OneKind supporters to the Scottish Government, to urge them consult on phasing out farrowing crates for mother pigs.  

Send an email 

In July, we also sent an open letter, signed by 9 animal welfare groups, to the Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, Jim Fairlie, urging that the Scottish Government consults as soon as possible for a phase out of farrowing crates. The signatories included animal welfare charities and organisations working for more sustainable farming practices.

Proposal to ban cages for laying hens

After years of campaigning the Scottish Government for a ban on cages for egg-laying hens, in April the Government consulted on its proposal to phase out cages for laying hens. 

We mobilised our supporters to respond to the consultation using our step-by-step guide. We fully support the Government's proposal to phase out cages for egg-laying hens. However, we also urged our supporters to voice their disappointment that the consultation did not address cages for pigs and to advocate for their phase-out as well. 

The analysis of the consultation responses is expected to be published soon.

We launched the Crate Escape petition 

In addition to our Stand Up for Pigs campaign to ban farrowing crates in Scotland, this year we also joined forces with Compassion in World Farming and Humane Society International to call on all UK Governments to ban farrowing crates.   

Sign the Crate Escape petition 

The Crate Escape petition calls upon the Secretary of State for Defra (England), Agriculture Minister (Scotland), Minister for Rural Affairs (Wales), DAERA Minister (Northern Ireland) to support The Crate Escape, and fully ban farrowing crates from the UK.