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!

James Cameron's latest film has probably now been written about more times than I've eaten Linda McCartney pies. However, my tuppence worth on this 'Dances with Wolves meets Aliens meets the Smurfs' film is going to look at the way the Na'vi tribe treated the animals that they shared planet Pandora with. I'm grimacing with self-restraint to stop myself calling them Pan's People.

You know what? I've decided to up-sticks to Pandora. I've put the house in Musselburgh up for sale, given away the TV, computer, sega master system and complete collection of Carry On Films, bought a little blue suit for the cat and have decided to go and live with the Na'vi people. Who cares if the air isn't compatible with our lungs - neither is it here on earth at times.

So, a new year - a new decade no less!

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone, and I hope you all had a good one. I went down South to spend the holidays with my family, where we had our first ever white Christmas, and what a treat that was. Whenever I return home I’m always reminded of what an animal-centric world my parents live in.

Ooh it’s snowing!! And it has been since Thursday past, day one at The Edinburgh Ethical Christmas Fair. Heléna and myself were frozen solid after only a couple of hours at our OneKind stand but the Fair soon warmed up as the crazy Christmas crowds started flooding in. Of course, the delicious veggie curry we scoffed from the Mosque Kitchen also helped to get our blood flowing again.

Thank you to everyone who came to visit us at Fair, including little Rosa above, and to all the lovely Advocates for Animals volunteers and staff members who gave up their weekend to spread the OneKind message; Alistair, Barbra, Donna, Edna, Gillian, Helena, James, John, Kat, Libby, Pauline, Ryan and Viv – you guys rock!

All set for Christmas? For those of you who have Christmas planned with precision, well done! For the more haphazard among us, myself included, wish us luck braving the shops!

This week the office is looking forward to our Christmas get-together on Friday. It will be fantastic to have everyone under one roof as we’ve all been so busy over the past 12 months. For some of us this will be the first Advocates for Animals Christmas shindig- it’s mine, so it’s all very exciting! Like any other Christmas do, we’ll be reflecting on and celebrating our efforts in 2009. No doubt some of us will also be nursing sore heads afterwards!

Question. When is a pig not a chop? Answer. When it’s a Micropig.

I should really be celebrating the fortune of birth that this latest entry to the animal pop charts has benefited from. Instead though, being a cup half empty kind of guy,  I’m musing on the unfair treatment of their larger cousin, the pig (pictured left), or you may know them by the latin name I’ve just made up, Porcus Grandus.

Today is a very important day for Advocates for Animals and anyone who cares about Scotland’s wildlife. Why? Because this morning I am accompanying our Policy Director, Libby Anderson, to the Scottish Parliament to attend a meeting of the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee, where they will vote on the proposed amendments to the Marine (Scotland) Bill.

‘Eh?’ I hear you say. Well, let me explain.

I love the festive season! I love the sparkle of fairy lights, the buzz of late night shopping, mulled wine and mince pies, falling snowflakes and l love the enchanting aromas of cinnamon and gingerbread that are always so prominent at this time of year – or is that just my Starbucks soy latte?

In my first post to you all, I wanted to tell you a little bit about how I will be playing my part in OneKind Christmas by making animal friendly choices when shopping.

‘Every Little Thing She Does is Magic’ by The Police always brings a smile to my face. I remember how our Staffordshire Bull Terrier Patch used to howl at the line “...and it’s always me that ends up getting wet.” Isn’t it funny that a dog can be so opinionated about music? I owe many things to Patch – from learning to walk by holding on to her back, to my infinite respect for all animals. She’s gone now, but she remains my inspiration. Every little thing she did for me was magic.

Each of us is inspired by different things in our life. Inspiration can come in any shape or form; be it a person, story or place. Recently I heard the story of Harriet Tubman, eloquently told by the wonderful Sally Baffour, founder of the adoption charity Thank U. Harriet was born into slavery in Maryland in the 19th century. Like so many, she was abused at the hands of slave-owners; yet, in her twenties she managed to escape to Philadelphia. Harriet couldn’t abandon her family; she returned and under the cover of darkness freed her relatives one group at a time. Using a network of antislavery activists and safe houses, known as the Underground Railroad, she eventually guided countless slaves to freedom.

Wow! The Advocates for Animals office is buzzing right now. Our CEO and Campaigns Director came back from a meeting yesterday with Queen guitar legend and all round top bloke Brian May CBE. For two hours they spoke with him about the OneKind campaign, he spoke with them passionately about his love for animals.

They showed Brian our campaign literature and recent press adverts featuring Alesha Dixon, Paul O’Grady and Johnny Vegas. Brian returned the favour of inspiration with his stunning photographs and videos of the beautiful Sebastian the fox. You can read more about Sebastian the fox for yourself on Brian’s Blog at www.brianmay.com

Hi! Following all your fantastic support for our Look Out for Seals campaign, here is an update on the achievements so far. A Scottish Parliament debate of the Marine Bill was held last Thursday, and you will be happy to hear that the discussions were very encouraging for our sealife.

Although we aspire to a complete end to the killing of seals, the debate certainly demonstrated a leap in the right direction. These gorgeous animals now have an exclusive section within the Marine Bill.

It’s certainly been a busy week for us here at Advocates for Animals, and what an exciting time! We took the OneKind campaign out on the road for the first time this weekend, to Scotland’s first ever Girls’ Day Out event at the Glasgow SECC, and what a fantastic response we had.

The idea of 15,000 women all together in an exhibition hall packed with high fashion, hair, handbags and general hilarity was enough to fill our male staff members with a mix of fear, fascination and bewilderment. But for us girls, it was a great opportunity to stick on lashings of extra (animal-friendly) slap, fashion our own personalised OneKind tees (http://onekind.spreadshirt.co.uk/) and sing out for OneKind living!