Yesterday was a pretty monumental day in Spain. The parliament of Catalonia voted for a full ban on a centuries-old tradition, bullfighting, in the entire region. This sets an impressive precedent in an area which is increasingly looking to differentiate itself from the traditional ruling culture of Castilian Spain. Thousands of bulls will be spared a short, miserable life and a horrifyingly cruel death.

The vote was called after a petition was handed to parliament bearing a staggering 180,000 signatures calling for an end to the practice; many thought a ban was way out of reach and would not happen in the near future. This just goes to show that incredible leaps of progress can be made in a short space of time.

This week came the good news that the cull of the Welsh badgers has been halted. Hurrah! There has been a real buzz about the announcement and what a relief for the badgers. We must congratulate the Badger Trust for their dedicated efforts in making sure the fairest decision was made. What an achievement!

A big thank you to all of you who took part in our Get Sett for Badgers action through our website. You sent masses of emails to Welsh Assembly Government Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones AM.  Well done also to Brian May CBE for raising the profile of this issue and campaigning so ardently on behalf of the badgers, as he has done for our seals and snaring campaigns.

Here at OneKind we're intent on finding lots of different ways to help people make a difference for animals, whether it be through lobbying politicians ahead of key legislation, through promoting an animal-friendly lifestyle or by volunteering your skills to the cause.

There's a buzz of excitement around the office right now as we're all set to launch our campaign to rid Scotland of snares once and for all, a campaign that will need the help of people like yourself who care about animals.

In a Mail Online article on 7th June, Philip Hoare, author of the critically acclaimed book Leviathan, or The Whale wrote of his encounter with a sperm whale in the Azores. "I've never been so terrified. I could even feel the click of the whale's sonar as it scanned me, physically reading me. Then it came close enough to touch, and turned its eye to look at me. In that gaze, I saw sentience. And all I could think was of one word: sorry."

Why was Hoare's impulse in coming eye to eye with this fellow thinker, dreamer and survivor to say sorry? The answer is obvious really.

Nationalism is ok isn't it? During the world cup it is anyway. It's a time when you can unashamedly hang your flag out of your car window and shout at passersby, safe in the knowledge that they know the context - there's a football tournament on and you want your country to win.

If it was a war and those people were on the opposing side then it would be a bit different - the car would be chased like it was an ice cream van on the hottest day of the year.

So, the night before last I walked across hot coals. Yes! Really! I really did do it! Six times hotter than a barbecue, they said. Hot enough to melt aluminium. And I felt it! But it didn’t hurt, and I didn’t get burned. Not one jot. I know you probably don’t believe me, but it’s true.

All people have been asking me since yesterday is, “how did you do it?” The truth is, I don’t really know. I mean, it was explained to us; there are several complex reasons why it’s physically possible to do, but none of that answers the question of how, standing there in front of the intense heat, smoke and glowing coals, was I able to take that first step?

On Saturday Esme and I took the OneKind message to a local Staffie Rescue fun day and dog show at the Archerfield Estate in East Lothian. We met people and their pets of all different shapes and sizes, from a 4 month old puppy to Lucy, a gentle and serene 16-year-old greyhound.

One thing we all had in common was knowing that our canine friends are capable of thoughts and feelings (and wrapping us around their wee paws).

I felt some sympathy for the contestants on BBC One’s Junior Apprentice last night. Split into two teams, this week the candidates were set with the task of organising a cupcake sale.

Now I’m not running a cupcake sale for Lord Sugar, but Heléna and I have been planning the OneKind events you’ve been hearing a lot about lately: the FireWalk and OneKind Live. I could relate to the teen-entrepreneurs; the nervousness associated with hoping that everyone will enjoy the final offering.

On Monday, while travelling through the beautiful Scottish countryside on a train headed for Edinburgh, I read Patrick Swayze’s autobiography Time of My Life and did so from cover to cover. I never could have imagined how firmly this passionate and detailed account of his life would grip me.

I hungrily turned each page, laughing as he described one of his first embarrassing teen encounters with his wife-to-be, crying when he recalled the death of his beloved father and being absolutely shocked at the number of times he himself had dodged death, until just last year when he very sadly lost his battle against pancreatic cancer. 

Earlier this week I came across a news story that caused me to question myself in a way I haven’t for a long time.

The title of said story goes like this: “Painful truth is mice twist their faces in agony, just like humans”, and it goes on to describe how a team of Dutch and Canadian scientists have created a ‘mouse grimace scale’ for measuring the amount of pain a mouse is suffering based on its facial expressions.

Eeny, meeny, miny mo, hit your MP on the toe... or whatever the rhyme says. That's one way to select your MPs in this Thursday's UK election.

Another would be to turn your back while they number each other like you did when you played football in the playground.

Another, better way might be to watch the leaders' debates on the telly and vote for the one with the leader that was best at remembering the names of audience members.

If none of these float your goat, the party manifestos are a good place to start. It's quite time consuming to try and read all of these, especially with just a day or so to go till polling, so while you'll all be interested in a myriad of issues, we've tried to help by compiling the different parties' policies on animal welfare.

A whirlwind. That is the only way I can think to describe adequately the presence of the fascinating, energetic, gifted and highly eccentric Lucinda Hare, author of children's fantasy novel The Dragon Whisperer - a book which has recently been taking the already saturated and hard-to-break fantasy novel genre by storm.

Having heard that The Dragon Whisperer was something of an allegory about human relationships with animals, I decided recently to have a read of it. Then I found out that the author is a fan of ours, and, much to my surprise and delight, I had even had conversations with her on Facebook without realising it. It turns out she's passionate about the idea of OneKind, and feels that OneKind world is the kind of world her stories stand for. So, next thing I know, we're emailing, and she's coming in to meet us.

Just over 3 weeks ago, I made the 5 hour train journey from Edinburgh to London- my purpose? To meet my newest friend Esme. She’s a (roughly!) seven year old Staffy girl, who has obviously been used for breeding – for she has mammary glands to rival a glamour girl- and was found as a stray in Croydon in January this year. So to cut a long story short..

I make no secret of how much I love dogs, in particular my beloved Staffies. We have two pampered lumps back home in Derry; the only dangerous thing they’re capable of is omitting pungent gasses after dinner. When I moved to Edinburgh last summer I found a gaping big dog-shaped hole in my life, and after starting work here at Advocates for Animals, I began to look into fostering.

What in the name of Robin Hood's quill am I on about? King John's Castle is the name of a horse that ran at the Grand National last weekend. Well when I say ran I mean, in the words of the official website, he 'didn't move'.

To some this may seem a sign of weakness, a lily-livered act of cowardice that will deserve horse-taunts in the equine school playground. But to me it was an act of rebellion, a two-hooved gesture of defiance that said 'You want to jump over those hedges? Do it yourself!'. OK, so I'm anthropomorphising a little, but bear with me.

Today as Wild Things Live - a touring display of penguins, squirrel monkeys and exotic reptiles - visits a shopping centre in Glasgow, I think back to my younger years and brief encounters with similarly captive wild animals exploited for human entertainment...

Amongst all the many family photos my parents keep stored away in our home up on the north coast of Scotland, my favourite, and most memorable, was one of me as a little girl sitting proudly on the back of Anne the elephant. I loved animals you see, I still do, but I didn’t realise then the deep sadness that must have been so blatantly obvious in Anne’s eyes.

Remember when you were a kid and you went on holiday, and you were really looking forward to it, then you'd get all excited and pack far too early, then you get there and then, then all you want to do is make some friends then play around with a ball till you get shouted in by your mum for your tea? "Johnnnnn, yer dinner's ready!!"

Making friends on holiday was easy as a young lad, you would just find a small clearing, then holding a football, a tennis racket, or even better, a swingball kit, you stand and wait. Guaranteed as sure as night follows day within 10 minutes you'll have a new friend from some part of the UK you've never heard of before like Basingfordshire.

"A what?"

"A fire walk."

"You mean, walking on a fiery bed of hot coals?"

"Exactly."

"And why would any of our supporters want to do that?"

"Because they want to raise money for animals. Oh, and maybe because they're a little bit mad."

"Is it safe?"

"Of course! These specialists have been running these events for 20 years with no problems. Besides, people have been walking on fire since prehistoric times."

"Right."

"Right."

"This should be interesting."

With only a few months before another milestone birthday, I have to admit to feeling increasingly long-in-the-tooth. So when the opportunity arose to turn back the clock and go back to school for a week I jumped at the chance!

The generous invite to spend a week amongst bright and enthusiastic teenagers from George Herriot School in Edinburgh proved to be briefly nerve-racking but enduringly inspirational.

On Saturday Libby, Jo and I, along with Harriet Hare and the gorgeous Mr Foxy, made a trip up to Perth for the Scottish Liberal Democrat party conference. Our purpose? To show party members our vision of a Snare-Free Scotland, a vision shared by a huge majority of the Scottish public. These events and publicity stunts aim to get our message across to politicians, so that when a vote on snaring takes place later on this year our vision can become reality.

All in all we had a really successful day. For one, it didn't rain, so Harriet and Foxy didn't need to run for cover. No one could deny how well they looked standing outside Perth Concert Hall. Little children especially seemed to enjoy our furry friends – it was not what they were expecting on a quiet Saturday morning! We spoke to so many people passing by, and everyone agreed that a Snare-Free Scotland is the way to go. I spoke with one lady with a lovely Labrador puppy, and she was shocked and appalled to learn that pets can also be snared, such is the indiscriminate nature of the devices. I even had a chat with a group of gamekeepers who were totally against snaring. It was very interesting to hear everyone's opinions. If you stopped by on Saturday, it was a pleasure to meet you and thank you!

Around this time each year, deep underground and amongst the comfort of their cosy nests, baby badgers are welcomed into the world by their doting mothers. When born, badgers weigh around 100g and are little more than 12cm long but these babies will grow up to be the fastest digging animals on earth, eating up to 200 earth worms a day. Amazing.

In around five weeks, their eyes will start to open and they will begin to venture out into the big wide world that awaits them, but little do they know of the dangers they may have to face.

Just as we were beginning to rejoice at the (slightly!) brighter mornings and evenings it decides to snow! I don’t know about you but I am certainly ready for a pick-me-up. With all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, adjusting to life back at work and avoiding a dreaded cold, I can feel it all catching up with me.

In the evenings, after removing a layer or five of outer-wear, I put the kettle on and carry my duvet into the living room to indulge in some TV. I bet you’d agree that there are few things better than sitting cosily on the sofa, safely tucked away from the elements. I find this weather can be quite harsh on my skin, so a real treat is Saaf Organic Hydrating Face and Lip Balm. It has a lovely fresh, clean scent and gives me a much-needed moisture boost, after hovering near various heaters and radiators during the winter. Saaf also have a gorgeous Organic Foot Softening Balm, which is very soothing. I find it best when put on last thing at night and then left to sink in for the morning. Saaf is one of the companies which very kindly donated a prize for the OneKind draw at Girls’ Day out last October, and it's featured in our OneKind living section- http://www.onekind.org.uk/onekind-living There are special discounts for OneKind supporters on fantastic animal-friendly products, such as Naturisimo and BareFaced Beauty, so do check it out!

On a rather chilly day last month, myself and Advocates for Animals volunteers, Barbra and Lindsay, left Edinburgh westbound on the train for Harrysmuir Primary School in Livingston. We were all very excited (and secretly nervous) to be spending the day with around 60 primary five students to hear all about their ideas and suggestions to help conserve the Scottish Wildcat – of which sadly, there are only 400 left.

We were welcomed into a very enthusiastic class keen to show us their projects. The pupils had spent weeks researching the plight of the Scottish wildcat and began devising ideas about how they could help protect this endangered species. Their finished projects were superb did not disappoint.

It’s been a hectic start to 2010 at the Advocates for Animals office with passage of the Marine (Scotland) Bill last week. The Scottish Parliament discussed a number of amendments to the Bill that would make sure seals get the protection they deserve.

If you’ve been reading this blog regularly, visiting our website, following us on Twitter or on Facebook then you’re sure to know all about the LOOK OUT for SEALS campaign.

Since I started working for Advocates for Animals last year, seals have been at the forefront of our work and day-to-day office life. But in truth, ever since the first mention of a Marine Bill for Scotland in early 2007, and our seeing an opportunity to lobby for some formal protection for the estimated 200,000 seals in Scottish waters, the issue has not been at rest.

The constant discussions and updates led by our policy director, Libby, have kept the issue in the spotlight even when we've been focussing on other campaigns. Even during those 'quiet' periods between parliamentary debates on the Bill, Libby has been unwavering in her dedication to the issue, spending endless hours with MSPs discussing and debating amendments to the Bill.

For millions of people around the world the 25th of January means one thing - the birthday of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns. It may be 251 years since he was born, but somehow his passion, his compassion and his humanity still give us cause to celebrate.

We at Advocates for Animals think that, instinctively, Burns would have ‘got’ OneKind - might even be claimed as the first of the OneKind poets (alongside Benjamin Zephaniah, the latest famous face in the OneKind campaign).  We decided to analyse this a bit further; so on Saturday night we gathered with friends around a candlelit table, down by the Water of Leith in Edinburgh.  My first ever Burns Supper! We had vegan haggis, a few drams and plenty of talk.  There was a wee bit of singing too, which we think Rabbie would have enjoyed, once we’d introduced him to the karaoke machine…

This was a man who delighted in nature and in the animals that shared his world, whose verses were composed while he worked outdoors, and only committed to paper when he got home at night.  One day when Rab was out at the plough with his brothers he learned that his pet sheep Mailie had taken a tumble over her tether, and was lying in the ditch.  Mailie was set to rights and they went back to their work.  But as he ploughed, Rab was imagining how Mailie might have died, and how she would have had to bid farewell to her lambs.  By the end of the day, he had composed the wry Death and Dying Words of Poor Mailie, the Author’s Only Pet Yowe (ewe) – and taken a dig at himself for being so foolish as to leave a sheep tethered where she could get in difficulties.  It was, as he said, an ‘unco mournful tale’.

To a Mouse – a OneKind poem if ever there was one – tells of the time when he turned up the nest of a field mouse with his plough. Long before ‘empathy’ was invented, Burns talks to the little creature in tones of exceptional sweetness – recognising the terror he has caused her, promising not to harm her, and accepting that she should have her tiny share of the crop.  I was recently compiling a potted history of Advocates for Animals, and through my research I rediscovered that for many years, two lines of this poem- summing up the inequality between humans and animals- appeared on Advocates for Animals’ annual reports (or the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Vivisection, as it then was):  

I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion
Has broken Nature’s social union.

We so often wish there was a bit more acknowledgment of that ‘social union’ and the fact that we’re all ‘earth-born companions’ and ‘fellow mortals’.  Burns’ compassion and understanding touched a chord then, as it does today. 

But he could get angry too.  In The Wounded Hare, he rails against ‘inhuman Man’ with his ‘barb’rous art’ and his ‘murder-aiming eye’ for shooting and maiming a hare.   These were days when animals were killed without much thought, but Burns was tormented by the suffering of the wounded animal and the thought that, at that time of year, her young might be left to die without her.   But, he promised, he would not forget her:

Oft as by winding Nith I, musing, wait
The sober eve, or hail the cheerful dawn
I’ll miss thee sporting o’er the dewy lawn,
And curse the ruffian’s aim, and mourn thy hapless fate.

I absolutely loved my first Burns Night. It was perhaps an alternative one, with colleagues and friends from all over the UK, from Poland, Spain and the United States.  All brought together by the OneKind spirit of one man – thank you, Rabbie!