News Blog End of year highlights: 2025 animal welfare achievements (18-12-25) 2025 has been a year of powerful campaigning and progress for animals in Scotland. From Parliament to public action, we’ve worked hard to end cruelty to Scotland’s animals. Whether securing the Scottish Government's support for an end to greyhounds racing, helping shape guidance to improve the welfare of farmed fish, or challenging the use of cages and captive reindeer in festive events, our collective voice has been heard loud and clear. None of this would have been possible without the dedication and support of our supporters. These are your accomplishments too. Here are our key animal welfare successes from this year. Scottish Government announced support for greyhound racing ban In September, we welcomed the Scottish Government’s decision to back the Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill, which will bring an end to greyhound racing in Scotland. As co‑ordinators of the Unbound the Greyhound coalition, we have spent the past two years exposing the welfare issues inherent in greyhound racing and mobilising public support for a ban. As a coalition, we mobilised more than 11,000 individuals to write to their MSPs and the Minister, urging them to support the Bill ahead of the Government’s announcement. BBC News coverage amplified our reindeer campaign This week, our campaign to end the use of reindeer in festive displays was reported on by BBC News. This national coverage gave us a powerful platform to highlight the wealth of welfare concerns for reindeer used in these events and to show event organisers that our message is reaching a wide audience. We were delighted to work alongside Animal Aid, Born Free and Freedom for Animals on this campaign once again this year. 250+ mentions across major media outlets This year, our campaigns have reached far and wide, with over 250 media features across print, online, radio, and broadcast outlets. From national platforms to local papers, we have been shaping the conversation on animal welfare. As spokesperson for the Unbound the Greyhound coalition, we were featured in more than 40 pieces, including by BBC News, The Herald, The Scotsman and The Times. Our Don’t Pet Me campaign gained attention in Pets Magazine and across major outlets including STV News, The Daily Record, and The Sunday Mail. In total, it was featured in 89 pieces throughout 2025. And most recently, our reindeer campaign launch was picked up by 31 outlets. We launched our Don’t Pet Me campaign In May, we launched our Don’t Pet Me campaign alongside Born Free and the Scottish SPCA, calling on the Scottish Government to end the suffering of wild animals in homes across Scotland. With almost any species currently allowed to be kept at pets, countless animals endure inadequate housing, poor diets, and the inability to express natural behaviours. Our campaign is pressing for a permitted list of species that can thrive in domestic environments, a change that would prevent wild animals from enduring lives of captivity. To date, more than 11,500 people have signed the Don’t Pet Me petition calling for change. Unbound the Greyhound took to the Scottish Parliament with greyhounds (twice!) In April, we took to the Scottish Parliament alongside nine rescued greyhounds and supportive organisations as the Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill was introduced. Each of these greyhounds had been rescued from the racing industry, and their presence served as a powerful reminder of the dogs impacted by racing, bringing the issue directly to the attention of decision‑makers at Parliament. By summer, almost 11,000 people had urged politicians to back the ban. And so, in November, we returned to Parliament with coalition members and two rescue greyhounds, Sasha and Katie, meeting MSPs again to press for support as the Bill progresses. We secured widespread national attention on the suffering of baby gannets In September, the Guga hunt of baby gannets took place for the first time since 2021 on Sula Sgeir, north of the Isle of Lewis. Ten men travelled to the uninhabited island, removing chicks from their nests with poles and nooses before clubbing them to death and preparing them to be sold as a so‑called “delicacy.” We brought national attention to this cruelty, with over 40 media outlets featuring our comments. Coverage included BBC News, STV News, and the Daily Record — three of Scotland’s most influential platforms. This widespread coverage helped shine a national spotlight on the suffering caused by the hunt and strengthened calls for change. We also wrote to both NatureScot and the Scottish Government to challenge their decision. Our exposé revealed reindeer stress in UK festive events In February, we released an exposé based on footage from eight festive reindeer events, analysed by Dr Tayla Hammond, an animal welfare researcher with experience studying reindeer welfare. Her findings revealed that 75% of the reindeer displayed clear signs of stress — including pacing, pulling away from handlers, and other behaviours linked to poor welfare. The exposé was picked up by the Daily Record and The Canary, helping us raise public awareness of the suffering behind festive reindeer displays and adding weight to our call for change. Drawing on these findings, we worked with Animal Aid, Born Free and Freedom for Animals to co‑ordinate an open letter, signed by 35 welfare groups and experts, urging hundreds of UK event organisers to end the use of live reindeer in Christmas celebrations. Stand Up for Pigs in Parliament In January, we co‑hosted a Parliamentary event on the need to phase out farrowing cages for mother pigs alongside Humane World for Animals. The event was attended by 12 MSPs. Later in September, we returned to the Parliament to join a Scottish Government roundtable on phasing out cages. We urged the Government to commit to ending this outdated practice that inflicts considerable suffering on the pigs trapped in these cages scarcely bigger than their own bodies. Ending the use of cages is one of OneKind’s key manifesto asks, which we continue to raise in meetings with party manifesto leads. More than 11,500 people have written to the Scottish Government, urging them to put an end to these cages. We spoke up for wild animals at Revive conference In November, OneKind’s Director of Policy, Kirsty, took to the stage at the REVIVE National Conference 2025 to call on all of us, especially decision makers, to expand our understanding of community to include animals too. The land reform event was hosted by renowned Scottish television and Hollywood actor David Hayman and prominent land reform campaigner Lesley Riddoch. Kirsty made the case that land reform must deliver not just deliver for people, but for wild animals too. Lobbied for fish in Parliament This year, we push hard for stronger protections for farmed fish – taking our concerns into the Scottish Parliament. In January, we took part in a parliamentary event on strengthening legal protections for farmed fish and met the Cabinet Secretary to raise urgent concerns about farmed salmon welfare. We contributed to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee inquiry on salmon farming last year, and in March this year we briefed MSPs ahead of the debate on the committee’s report. Our input also helped shape new guidance on fish at the time of killing. In April, we met with the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission on the use of ‘cleaner fish’ - leading to a recommendation that their use be phased out within ten years, in a step forward for protecting both salmon and the species used alongside them. Manage Cookie Preferences