If I hear one more.....

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competitiondiva

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person slating the rspca and saying they don't do anything unless it's infront of camera's....... puleease how many reports a day do you see in the papers??? You really think this equates to the 130,033 animals collected in 2010 (sorry can't find 2011 figures), 211,188 animals treated, 79,810 neutered, 159,686 cruelty complaints investigated, 2,441 convictions. (facts obtained here: http://www.rspca.org.uk/media/facts) all this with only 278 inspectors, 57 trainee inspectors, 82 animal welfare officers (AWOs) and 58 animal collection officers (ACOs) covering the whole country 24/7 x 365 days a year.

I don't think I saw that many stories in the papers?!

Personally I don't think those numbers equate to a charity that doesn't care......????

I completely understand people have had bad experiences, but I hate to hear generic moans......
 
Agreed but I fully expect this thread to turn sour.
Unfortunately if people get a crap till person in tesco they blame the individual, if they get a crap inspector they blame the whole society.
The new man at the top is chopping out the dead wood, offering the crap people a way out and trying to deal with an outdated business. I am right behind him and hope that he is going to prove to the public that the RSPCA is there to do a good job.
There are lots of employees fighting to do a good job with limited resources on the front line (regardless of what people say about finances, money is tight on the frontline) and they should be recognised as doing so.
 
Agreed. I have only ever had good experiences with them. They may not be able to help every animal, a lot of what is prob due to red tape. But they do help many and I for one are glad they are doing what they do.


Although they should cut out their expensive annual balls or whatever it is they do.
 
Although I own a horse rescued by the WHW and owner sent to prison by an RSPCA prosecution, all other experiences regarding equine abuse have been negative ones by the RSPCA.
Have rehomed some great dogs from their centres though.
 
The first time I contacted rspca, for a vixen who desperately needed destroying after an rta, complete with one dead cub & two more cowering at the side of a main road in the very early morning, I was told they would 'try' & get someone out later that day. I said I'd call the local newspaper & see if they knew anyone who could make it sooner, & hey presto, they all of a sudden they were on their way. I've heard lots of similar stories too so not a one off. I don't notice them doing much for less popular issues, such as battery hens or live export, but they're smack at the front for media friendly issues like hunting & the gn. So whilst they may do some good work, & no doubt have some very caring employees, on the whole I have very little respect for them. So I will continue to comment as I see fit, regardless of what anyone else thinks.
 
To add, I think people forget that the RSPCA has to act within the law, meaning that their hands are often tied and they are powerless to act. Then they get critisized for not doing their jobs right despite the fact that red tape and the law has held them back. That's simply not fair.
 
competitiondiva said:
person slating the rspca and saying they don't do anything unless it's infront of camera's....... puleease how many reports a day do you see in the papers??? You really think this equates to the 130,033 animals collected in 2010 (sorry can't find 2011 figures), 211,188 animals treated, 79,810 neutered, 159,686 cruelty complaints investigated, 2,441 convictions. (facts obtained here: http://www.rspca.org.uk/media/facts) all this with only 278 inspectors, 57 trainee inspectors, 82 animal welfare officers (AWOs) and 58 animal collection officers (ACOs) covering the whole country 24/7 x 365 days a year.

I don't think I saw that many stories in the papers?!

Personally I don't think those numbers equate to a charity that doesn't care......????

I completely understand people have had bad experiences, but I hate to hear generic moans......
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but can you find the figures that say how many cruelty complaints were received but not acted on, how many of those animals collected had to be pts because the rspca hadn't acted soon enough? figures can be made to look fantastic and i for one don't have much faith in figures released by the organisation themselves. I also don't have much faith in inspectors who threaten to take a pony from an owner because it was unrugged...........it was a native with a coat like a yak :mad:
i rehomed a dog from them years ago, what most people don't realise is that the rehoming centres are self funded franchises, all those millions the RSPCA gets donated to them every year doesn't go to the rescues:(
 
The other factor is that included in those figures are the animals treated & spayed at a low cost at the veterinary clinics ran at low cost for those on low incomes. So whilst that is a good thing, its not a fair representation of what they do for cruelty & neglect cases, which is what most people have an issue with them about.
Agreed they're tied by the law, but I don't see them doing a great deal to change it.
Ibblebibble- agree entirely with your post.
 
Yes RSPCA do a 'okish' job.

But they DO and i know by experience only seem to leap on something if there is media coverage.

If they can get their names in the paper then they will. If not, they are a bit slower on the uptake.
 
Ibblebibble said:
but can you find the figures that say how many cruelty complaints were received but not acted on, how many of those animals collected had to be pts because the rspca hadn't acted soon enough? figures can be made to look fantastic and i for one don't have much faith in figures released by the organisation themselves. I also don't have much faith in inspectors who threaten to take a pony from an owner because it was unrugged...........it was a native with a coat like a yak :mad:
i rehomed a dog from them years ago, what most people don't realise is that the rehoming centres are self funded franchises, all those millions the RSPCA gets donated to them every year doesn't go to the rescues:(
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This isn't entirely accurate, the National RSPCA do have rehoming centres. Not all centres are branch run. The national or regional rehoming centres as they are called only take in animals from the inspectors, they aren't able to cherry pick which animals they accept for rehoming. They are dealing with the most abused, neglected and in need animals which is something that other charities just don't get involved in.
Obviously all stats can be made to show one thing or another but I think it is worth remembering that as a charity with no government funding or real powers the RSPCA are trying hard to make a dent in the massive amount of reported cruelty in the uk each year.
 
They are far but perfect (and I have had many run ins with them myself) but the way I see it is there better than nothing. I wish they had more power/money/willingness to prosecute.

I believe they rely totally on public donations?
 
Totally agree with the OP. And if they look for media attention - is that not a legitimate thing to do in order to increase their profile and get more donations to carry on the work. Where I live they go after gangs involved in dog fighting, badger baiting etc and do a damn fine job. Who else is going to prosecute cases of cruelty?
 
Here's my experience with the RSPCA.
About 10 years ago I applied to the RSPCA to be an Inspector. I spent a day out with two inspectors in my area. We spent the day putting dogs and cats to sleep.
I went to the first interview which was a talk, followed by the interview.
The talk didn't consist of how you were going to work for a charity which helped animals. They were more at pains to tell you how excellent the pension scheme was and that the pension fund was huge and getting bigger all the time, but that they didn't have funds to build animal homes - how do the donating public feel about that?

I then went to the interviews where I was told that as there weren't enough animal homes, most of the animals were euthanised and was advised that there wasn't really much helping or rescuing of animals goes on.

I was accepted, but declined to work for them on the basis that I didn't want to work for an organisation which seemed more interested in it's pension pot than the work that the charity was supposed to be carrying out.
That is one reason I will never ever donate to them.

A few years ago on Christmas Day I was out riding and saw an injured swan (caught in fishing line) on the canal - it was bleeding. I got the number and phoned from my mobile and waited for the RSPCA rep to arrive so that I could point her in the direction of said swan. She was downright rude and asked didn't I have anything better to do on Christmas Day than call them out.
This is another reason I will never ever donate to them.
I'm glad that some of you have had positive experiences with them, however I have yet to have one.
 
victoria 1980x yes they rely totally on donations, which when you consider it costs £122 million pound a year to run, that's a hell of a lot of donations needed to continue the work they do now!

There's always the debate of how that money is spent, one organisation cannot please everyone, as everyone has different priorities which is why the rspca is run by a council. (And please no one bring up the cost of the HQ's that is very old news, was done at a time when they were very well off (weren't we all in the good old days!!), and needed a bigger HQ building!)

With regard to figures, yes, they can be used in different ways, it still doesn't negate that that amount of animals are now better off because of them.

Prosecutions aren't cheap which is why you don't see other organisations bringing them!

Regarding the number of complaints they don't get to, well fairs fair, they cannot as a charity deal with it all..... they do what they can and try to sort out the best they can what they can't, that might not be good enough, but it's all we've got and needless rspca bashing on here doesn't help that! One day they may not be there, especially in todays finances, it was in the press recently that the rspca are losing 137 or so posts!.... Then were would we be?
 
victoria1980x said:
They are far but perfect (and I have had many run ins with them myself) but the way I see it is there better than nothing. I wish they had more power/money/willingness to prosecute.

I believe they rely totally on public donations?
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They recieve grants and sizeable donations from investors I am led to believe.

EDIT: Most of the income comes from Legacy Donations also.
 
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I'm another one who hates seeing all this RSPCA bashing.... They are not a rich charity like many believe they are. They are currently struggling to rehome over 500 horses and ponies and like other charities do not have the room, facilities or money to take in anymore.... My SIL works on the charity side and is desperately looking for different ideas to help raise money and one of the problems she keeps facing is equine people being so anti. Maybe if we supported them a bit more we would see a difference because the money would be there.
 
sitch said:
They recieve grants and sizeable donations from investors I am led to believe.

EDIT: Most of the income comes from Legacy Donations also.
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These donations dont just get given, there are staff who have the horrible job of contacting the rich and the famous to ask for their support.
 
Suffolkangel said:
I'm another one who hates seeing all this RSPCA bashing.... They are not a rich charity like many believe they are. They are currently struggling to rehome over 500 horses and ponies and like other charities do not have the room, facilities or money to take in anymore.... My SIL works on the charity side and is desperately looking for different ideas to help raise money and one of the problems she keeps facing is equine people being so anti. Maybe if we supported them a bit more we would see a difference because the money would be there.
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Kind of true, but not totally, they have a lot more money then you think they do.

In 1999 the reserves the RSPCA held was 150 million, a high amount. Figure could have changed since then though, higher or lower.
 
sitch said:
Kind of true, but not totally, they have a lot more money then you think they do.

In 1999 the reserves the RSPCA held was 150 million, a high amount. Figure could have changed since then though, higher or lower.
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They're really struggling, i know in my SIL's office there are going to be over 150 redundancies alone due to lack of funding... they're only keeping on staff necessary...
 
sitch said:
Kind of true, but not totally, they have a lot more money then you think they do.

In 1999 the reserves the RSPCA held was 150 million, a high amount. Figure could have changed since then though, higher or lower.
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Like I said before the RSPCA are up shitcreek at the moment. The new CEO has made loads of people redundant at HQ, he is planning a complete shake up which is going to have to save millions of pounds by December. If the shake up doesn't work and things carry on as they are we could be without the only charity who takes animal cruelty prosecutions before the end of 2012. There is no money, yes this is due to previous bad management but the new guy, Gavin Grant, is trying to put things right.
 
Suffolkangel said:
They're really struggling, i know in my SIL's office there are going to be over 150 redundancies alone due to lack of funding... they're only keeping on staff necessary...
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The people at the lower level I can not actually say anything against them. They do a good job considering the restraints. It's those at the top, but like the figure I posted, they say they will only keep 45 million in reserve so why was it so much then?

And don't take this the wrong way, but surely a charity should be only keeping on staff necessary?
 
wipeout said:
Like I said before the RSPCA are up shitcreek at the moment. The new CEO has made loads of people redundant at HQ, he is planning a complete shake up which is going to have to save millions of pounds by December. If the shake up doesn't work and things carry on as they are we could be without the only charity who takes animal cruelty prosecutions before the end of 2012. There is no money, yes this is due to previous bad management but the new guy, Gavin Grant, is trying to put things right.
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Thank you, you've managed to get my point a lot better then i did...
 
Whilst in an ideal world we'd all offer support in the hope it will change them, when it comes to deciding where my small donations can go, i'll pick a charity that I know will do some good, now,not in a year or so.
 
sitch said:
The people at the lower level I can not actually say anything against them. They do a good job considering the restraints. It's those at the top, but like the figure I posted, they say they will only keep 45 million in reserve so why was it so much then?

And don't take this the wrong way, but surely a charity should be only keeping on staff necessary?
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Not sure where the £45 million reserves has come from but if that is the case then in the grand scheme of things it is less than 1/3 of it's annual running costs, so basically if all donations stopped tomorrow the rspca would exist for less than 4 months............ It used to be more because in 1999 we weren't in a recession, people were better off financially, gave more, property and therefore legacies were worth more!.........
 
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competitiondiva said:
Not sure where the £45 million reserves has come in but if that is the case then in the grand scheme of things it is less than 1/3 of it's annual running costs, so basically if all donations stopped tomorrow the rspca would exist for less than 4 months............
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In 2008 the reserves was £70 million, a sizable amount considering the economical climate the country was in. The reserves are if donations will stop, my point is not picking at them as such, but they do have more money then they like to say.

Feel like I am coming across as I hate the RSPCA I don't. I think they do a bad job, but like a lot of charities, it's the top brass that are ruining the charity not those who are doing it to help.
 
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