Last week, OneKind was honoured to present the Unbound the Greyhound coalition campaign at Eurogroup for Animals’ 2024 Annual Conference in Brussels. The campaign was 1 of 5 campaigns shortlisted for the Eurogroup for Animals Campaign Award. 

OneKind’s Head of Campaigns, Eve Massie Bishop, was invited to the stage to present the Unbound the Greyhound coalition campaign to end greyhound racing in Scotland.  

More than 200 animal advocates from across Europe were in attendance, with charities from Italy, Sweden, Germany and Belgium also presenting on the day. 

Working together for Europe's animals

Held in the Royal Library of Belgium and hosted by Eurogroup for Animals CEOs' Reineke Hameleers and Philip Lymbery, the conference brought together Eurogroup for Animals members to engage with MEPs, share tactics and reflect on the future for animals within Europe.

 

We were honoured to be shortlisted for the coveted Eurogroup for Animals Campaign Award for our work, alongside 8 other incredible groups, to end dog racing in Scotland.

Eve took to the stage to give a brief oversight of the campaign, highlighting the following successes from the coalition: 

• Securing 22,655 signatures on our open letter to the Scottish Government, calling on them to phase out dog racing.
• Handing in our open letter to the Government alongside 14 rescued greyhounds and 10 MSPs from across different political parties.
• Projecting our campaign video and the text ‘End Dog in Racing’ in Scotland on notable buildings across Glasgow and Edinburgh, including former racing stadium Shawfield, and securing national media coverage.  

We were also delighted to share with the attendees that within less than a year of launching the Unbound the Greyhound campaign, Mark Ruskell MSP has brought a Bill that would ban greyhound racing in Scotland. Securing the necessary cross-party support within 24 hours, Ruskell now has the right to introduce the Bill to the Scottish Parliament and we look forward to supporting it as it progresses through Parliament.  

MEPs shared animal welfare priorities 

During the conference, MEPS from each political group within the European Parliament also shared their priorities for the new political term. They also participated in a productive Q&A with member organisations. 

Photo stunt outside European Commission 

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. 

In the words of Eurogroup for Animals: 

"To call for the urgent delivery of the long overdue revision and improved animal welfare, on 2 October, a group of representatives of animal protection organisations across Europe gathered in front of the European Commission. Such delay continues to maintain the everyday suffering of animals as a status quo."

Unbound the Greyhound coalition members 

The coalition consists of nine animal protection organisations including campaigning charities, rehoming centres, grassroots groups, and an all-party parliamentary group: OneKind, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG), Animal Concern, Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, GREY2K USA Worldwide, Hope Rescue, League Against Cruel Sports Scotland, Say No to Greyhound Racing in Scotland, and Scotland Against Greyhound Exploitation (SAGE).