If ever there was any doubt about OneKind’s remit stretching beyond Scotland, the last few weeks have well and truly proven that it does.
With a week in the Scottish Parliament ‘Celebrating Animals’, followed by a whistle stop tour to Belfast and Cardiff as part of our snaring campaign and the small matter of a European election and the Vote4Animals campaign in the middle, OneKind really has been making its presence felt far and wide.
Following the success of Celebrating Animals (you can read more about this in a previous blog by our Policy Director Libby Anderson) which saw 46 MSPs from all parties, sign a pledge for Scotland’s animals, myself and Libby headed for Belfast to meet with Mark H Durkan, Northern Ireland’s Minister for the Environment.
Northern Ireland has recently consulted on the issue of snaring and we wanted to meet the Minister for a progress report and to discuss the impact of snaring on animal welfare. The current situation in NI is that Ministers will create an Order regulating the use of snares. It is anticipated that this will be similar to the regulations here in Scotland.
OneKind’s position is of course that we support a ban on the use of all snares. However, in the absence of a ban we campaign extremely hard to make sure any improvements which can be made to reduce suffering are given full consideration by decision makers. It is also important that alternatives to snares are considered which is often overlooked.
After Belfast we headed to Cardiff to take part in a stakeholders’ day with the Welsh Government, again on the subject of snaring. This was a hugely productive day and allowed us the opportunity to make a case for a ban on snares in Wales. Government officials listened to the reasoning behind our position and we were able to share our knowledge and experience not only on the situation regarding snaring in Scotland but on current discussions with DEFRA. We are confident this is the start of a process which will allow us to input positively into any changes regarding snare-use in Wales.
Aside from the strong focus on snaring in recent weeks we have been campaigning ahead of the European elections to give animals a voice in Europe. Vote4Animals is a campaign co-ordinated by Eurogroup for Animals, of which OneKind is a member, which asked all candidates to sign up to a pledge committing to taking positive action for animals if elected.
The response to the campaign was extremely positive with a huge number of candidates signing the pledge. Of the 73 MEPs elected by the UK electorate, 13 had signed up to the pledge which is certainly encouraging. Over the next few months we will be working with Eurogroup for Animals on the next phase of the campaign Act4Animals to ensure the members who signed the pledge honour their commitment and remain focused on their responsibilities towards animals.
It’s been a busy and productive time for the OneKind team and we are indebted to the generosity of our supporters who make our work possible. Whether you give financially or donate by giving your time to take action and share our updates it makes a huge difference. It’s fantastic to be able to report on so much positive progress and to highlight the geographical spread of our campaigns.
Details of how to donate to help us continue with this work and fund future campaign can be found on the fundraising pages of our website. Once again thank you and please keep supporting us.