Last week, 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. 

 

On Wednesday 20th, Campaigner and Press Officer, Eve, and Social Media and Communications Officer, Rachel, headed 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. 

Bob & Bea leap to victory

The Unbound the Greyhound animation tells the story of Bob the greyhound, who has been rescued from the greyhound racing industry, and fictional greyhound, Bea, who remains in the racing industry. Through the narration of Bob the greyhound, the short film explores the welfare issues of dog racing and highlights the need for a phase out to dog racing in Scotland. 

The film calls on viewers to sign the Unbound the Greyhound coalition’s open letter to the Scottish Government and was significant in helping us to secure 22,655 signatures ahead of the hand-in at Parliament earlier this month.  

The winners of the People’s Choice Awards were decided solely by the public vote, so we want to take a moment to extend a huge thank you to every person that took the time to vote for the Unbound the Greyhound campaign video. We are incredibly grateful.  

OneKind Campaigner, Eve, said: 

“Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to vote for our video. We are absolutely thrilled to win this award.  

"We’re honoured to be co-ordinating the Unbound the Greyhound coalition of 9 groups, working to put an end to dog racing in Scotland: many of whom are grassroots groups who have been fighting for years on the ground.  

"2,718 greyhounds died and there were 22,284 total injuries between 2018-2022. That is 2,718 individuals. Beautiful, lazy and affectionate dogs that deserve as much love and attention as every other single breed of dog. 

"Dog racing is on its last legs in Scotland. With a proposed Bill to ban it, we believe it is only a matter of time before this dying industry is put out of its misery”.

Film Projection 

Last August, we projected the video onto the ‘People Make Glasgow’ building in Glasgow city’s George Square and Edinburgh’s Lothian Road. 

We timed the projections for the first day of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain’s (GBGB) ‘Greyhound Week’- a week dedicated to ‘showcase the joy and excitement of greyhound racing.’ There is nothing to celebrate in an industry where 2,718 dogs died and 22,284 injuries were recorded in just 5 years and we were compelled to use the day to highlight the reality of greyhound racing. 

Pledge your support for a greyhound racing ban 

Mark Ruskell MSP has launched a consultation for the Proposed Prohibition of Greyhound Racing (Scotland) Bill, which proposes to ban greyhound racing in Scotland.  

This is a crucial opportunity to secure a greyhound racing ban. We’re asking you to please pledge your support for the main aims of the Bill. 

Pledge your support

When each of the 9 Unbound the Greyhound coalition members submits their consultation response, they will include the total number of pledges from this action. This will demonstrate the weight of public support for the proposed ban. 

Thank you for your continued support for our campaign to end dog racing in Scotland.