About us Our vision and values Our vision How might we inspire a movement of people to connect with animals, protect them, advocate for them and enhance their lives? Continually asking ourselves this question allows OneKind to stay at the forefront of advancing animal welfare in Scotland, a position we have been consolidating since 1911, when our founders sought to end vivisection. Our vision is a world in which non-human animals are recognised as individuals and respected for their capacities and priorities, which are different to but not lesser than ours. OneKind effects positive change for animals through high-profile campaigns, political lobbying, investigations, public education, and promoting compassionate living. This allows us to shape the cultural and legislative landscape to seek justice for animals. We create conversations around challenging questions and seek innovative solutions to welfare problems. Our work is informed by current scientific evidence and fuelled by dedicated supporters. We work with like-minded organisations across the UK, Europe and globally, towards a world in which humans empathise with other animals, treat them with kindness, dignity and compassion, and allow them to flourish. Our values Animals who are farmed We encourage the adoption of a plant-based diet. For those who are not ready to make that choice, there is a responsibility to ensure they only buy higher welfare products, and not those produced in intensive ‘factory’ farms. As long as animals are still raised for food, we must see an end to those intensive practices, which cause immense suffering. The first step is to end the worst practices, like cages and live exports. Our current welfare standards in the UK only aim to end the worst kinds of suffering and fail even to do that. Standards needs to be raised to ensure that farmed animals are treated with respect and that their complex needs are being met. Animals who live in the wild Animals who live in the wild do not necessarily need our active involvement in making sure that they can flourish, unlike other animals. In the cases where animals can live unimpeded by humans, we should let that happen. Unfortunately, there aren’t many of those animals in Scotland. Most animals living in the wild are either hunted for sport, hampered by human structures or activities, or persecuted due to inconvenience or perceived threat. Some of the treatment of animals who are persecuted is extremely cruel and would be illegal if applied to companion animals. An example is trapping and snaring. We are working hard to put an end to these methods. The regulation of how wild animals are treated is inconsistent and fails to protect animals. Too often it is based on tradition and sport rather than ethics and evidence. We are working to change that. Animals used in research OneKind wants to see an end to the use of animals in research as it is unethical and unnecessary. In addition to the physical or mental pain or distress that can be caused by the experiments themselves, transportation, handling, confinement, environmental deprivation, isolation, and over-crowding can also cause suffering. Testing on animals is also unnecessary. There are now alternatives that are better and more applicable to humans. The reasons they are not used more widely are often not scientific but based on conservatism within scientific establishments, and bureaucracy. This area is retained to the UK government, so the Scottish Government has limited power. However, they should be actively promoting the development and use of alternatives. Animals who are companions to humans OneKind supports human-animal relationships that are beneficial to both. Animal companions bring us joy and mental health support – this is wonderful as long as the animals feel the same way. Keeping animals in our homes brings a responsibility to make sure that their physical and psychological needs are fully met. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are examples of animals suffering from poor mental health due to their needs not being met, such as rabbits confined in small hutches, horses kept alone or constantly stabled, or dogs left alone all day. Likewise, physical health problems such as obesity are prevalent. Animals being sold for profit has created the low welfare puppy farming and exotic species trades. Our desire for animals that look a certain way has led to breeding for harmful extreme conformation, and mutilations such as tail docking and ear cropping. There have been recent improvements to legislation in Scotland that aim to tackle some of these issues. We continue to work to further this progress.