RSPCA bashing

I've rehomed poultry from them and their level of ignorance of the care of anything beyond chickens is astronomical to the point that they couldn't even tell the difference between male and female peafowl ( now the male is the one with pretty blue feathers and a VERY long tail........!!)
 
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they couldn't even tell the difference between male and female peafowl (

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I've had the same problem with rats, I usually get my rats from our local RSPCA shelter and have brought 2 boys home before now only for one of them to give birth within a week!! and it's not like the boys don't have humungous b*lls (they do) and I know i should have checked for myself but I took their word for it, realised when i got home and put them in separate cages - too late
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The RSPCA are generally super with cats and dogs (and probably hamsters and gerbils too) and pretty hopeless with anything bigger. I am absolutely convinced that its mainly political with them - I honestly don't think too many inspectors know much about horses, they just "love animals". Horses, though, are big scary intimidating things often owned by people who go hunting, so the inspectors are wary, partly because of the scariness of the horses and partly by the political incorrectness of the hunting thing.
 
i question how good they are with dogs

they would not help out with a senile tumour ridden elderly dog left to wander the main road

when i rang them they didn't even have the intelligence to tell me to get in touch with the local dog warden

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What upsets people isn't that they don't do more than the law allows, its that they don't respond adequately within the law. They can, but they don't. I speak from personal experience too
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Oh yes and the personal experience was a dog, not a horse. I have heard from plenty of other people for whom they have been useless with dogs and cats, so it seems their perpetual uselessness in rescuing distressed animals is not political.

However (I can feel my blood beginning to boil now), on the matter of them being political, in this weeks Horse and Hound there is a big article about them in which they freely admit that 2.5% of their considerable income is spent on "campaigning and political activity". They obviously don't think there is anything wrong with that. I for one think there is. People who donate to them do so in order that they can rescue animals in need not go off on political campaigns. Between those activites, big salaries and executive cars at the top etc, maybe they don't leave enough funds available to train their staff properly
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I may be wrong, but I am sure I read somewhere that the majority of ILPH field officers are ex mounted police officers. They seem to be the ideal candidates to do this sort of role. Horsey knowledge plus experience of dealing with difficult/unsavoury characters they may come across. I appreciate that the RSPCA have hundreds more officers than the ILPH but surely that must be the type of person they should be recruiting.
 
RSPCA are useless !! they didn't want to do anything about a horse i found with his headcollar having grown into his head . But when my horse had an abcess on his neck despite the fact that he'd been at the vets for 4 days had a scan, abcess drained and left open to heal, rugged up, boots on his legs, well fed and in a small electeric fenced half of the field they came round and said that i'd been reported for not feeding and beating my horse up !! why cant they get it right ?? judge for yourselfs horse in my sig is the one who had abcess and this is the horse with headcollar embeded in his face.....(sorry rant over and huge pic sorry again)
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My opinions of the RSPCA are formed on my personal experience, and it's all been bad. They don't use the full force of the law, they don't ensure that officers dealing with equines have the right background, and they do spend a ridiculously high percentage of their income on admin and other overheads (ie a high percentage compared to other charities).
Meanwhile, because of their expensive publicity campaigns, their TV appearances with Rolph Harris etc, the public think that if they see an animal in trouble the people to call are the RSPCA.
My last experience with the RSPCA resulted in two dead horses on a road, and could have resulted in car drivers being killed or seriously injured. All completely avoidable as the RSPCA had known of the problem from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm (when the horses were eventually killed), had been promising to deal with it all day - and never put in an appearance at all.
The RSPCA... I just can't find the words to describe what I feel about them.
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I hope someone does point them to this post, not that they would be at all interested I'm sure.
 
BSH For me its more the fact that they seem so flipping useless when the other charities are getting it right. My personal grievance is because we called them about horse abuse and they didn't bother to do a single flipping thing, then we called ilph who did everything they possibly could and would have jumped the moon for us if we asked. I don't know the code but I have heard RSPCA blame it for no action far more than any other charity.
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The RSPCA is simply a charity, funded by those who donate to it. It is not a government department, or part of the UK legal system. RSPCA staff cannot even enter premises legally without the owners’ permission. The RSPCA cannot prosecute anyone under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

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The RSPCA is a charity incorporated with a Royal Charter. It maintains an 'Inspectorate' that wear police style uniforms and have police-style ranks (part of convincing the public they have powers they do not have!) But the RSPCA can - and does - prosecute 'offenders' under the Animal Welfare Act 2006! It tends to do it rather badly and cases regularly collapse - or are over-turned on Appeal - due to RSPCA c*ck-ups! See a recent one here - http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/284/rspca-heavily-criticised-as-cruelty-case-collapses/

The RSPCA has been running into trouble with the Courts for at least as long as I have been in the UK (28 years!) Witness coaching, driving 'a coach and horses' through PACE and of course the infamous Attorney-General v RSPCA case, where senior RSPCA employees were found by the Court of Appeal to have perverted the course of justice when disciplining an employee for allowing evidence to fall into the hands of defence lawyers, which assisted their clients’ case.

And of course we have the right to criticise the RSPCA - particularly in relation to its incompetent prosecutions, as in most cases costs are NOT awarded against the RSPCA but from 'the public purse' - in other words, the taxpayer. WE fund their mistakes!

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As is often the case on these threads, a lot of people with virtually no knowledge of either the law, or the circumstances surrounding a case, think they "know better", and that all those involved in a case are uncaring, unthinking, incompetent, idiots. Don't you think most of the people involved might actually be rather caring individuals, with some competence in these matters?

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Mmm - I have had quite a bit of experience with several high profile RSPCA prosecutions so no, I don't think the people involved were caring individuals with any competence at all! (And the Appeals Court agreed with me!
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I refuse to back the rspca!!!As regards to the jamie gray case,you are not telling me all those horses died in 1 day????
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It was stated they were aware of this .....,(not printing,lol)
I once found a stray cat at our yard,very skinny(ribs,hips sticking out),we fed her,as most humane people surely would????Contacted the rspca in north east lincolnshire,they asked "are you feeding the cat??"we said of course she is so emaciated,DO you want to know the answer we got??Probably not but am gonna tell you...Then it is your problem"!!!I was discusted and irrate and when they came round looking for donors(door to door)i told em exactly what i thought of them and why!!!
 
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R ogue
S ociety of
P rats
C reeps &
A rseholes

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PMSL
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Love it,will remember that 1 for a long time to come!!!!
 
PMSL .... I was thinking of an acronym and then went further down the thread and found you had created one .... but this was mine
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R Really
S Sorry
P Politically
C Cannot
A Assist
 
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THEN to top it all they are wanting the vet that delt with the horse and absess (which was not strangles in the end) to find something that could be condoned as cruelty (well left in a field for weeks and weeks with puss pouring out of its neck, is not a form of cruelty?????) as she admitted they have no powers to remove horses or report an owner or do anything about it unless a vet can say YES it is cruelty...

This to me sums this farce of an orginization up!!!

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This is nothing to do with the organisation - Its the law!

Only the vet can make that decision. I know staff from well respected horse charities, with years, and years of experince who have given their opinions in court, hower its only the vet that can be considered the 'expert' witness.
 
This is a very interesting post. In the summer last year I got a phone call, not from the SSPCA but from the ILPH saying they'd had an "anonymous" report about my horse being obese and that the inspector had been to look at him and was I aware that he was "dangerously overweight and I (was) killing him". Those were his exact words. He also told me if I didn't do something about it before he was back from his holidays 2 weeks later then he would have my horse taken off of me by the SSPCA.

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This was him taken a week after the report was made.

Now when I phoned back, after calming myself down (I was absolutely hysterical and had to walk out of work because I couldn't stop crying, I was just terrified that my baby would be taken away) I asked if I could speak to someone to make a complaint and was given an email address to which I sent a very long letter explaining that my horse was already under vet's advice about his weight and that was why I was taking him in to stand all day and he was out at night, that we had found out who had reported me and it was a malicious call from an ex-friend who had admitted to another friend that she did it, and that I was very unhappy in the way I was spoken to when I received the initial phonecall and was also very upset at the way the inspector went up without anyone who even knew my horse present on the yard.

I also asked if the inspector was actually aware of my horse's breed (Welsh Section D), age and medical conditions before he had made such a snap judgement and called me to tell me I was murdering my horse.

All I was got was a VERY patronising phonecall from the inspector's supervisor, asking me if I knew what laminitis was (I explained that I had written a 10,000 word honours thesis on the subject and have worked with horses for over 20 years, but that didn't stop him explaining it all over again) and telling me he's sure his inspector wouldn't have said those things unless there was genuine reason for concern. He also assured me that they knew which horse was mine as they had been told he was the "brown one" - there are several in that field.

At the end of the phonecall he said "I hope this hasn't affected your trust of the ILPH and I hope you will support our work in the future". I'm sad to say that it really did shake my trust in charities such as this. I am all for helping animals in need, and when that need is genuine I think they do amazing work for animal welfare. But from my past experience, they seem less interested in the real cases and more set on scaring the sh*t out of hard working and genuine horse owners like myself.
 
thanks for the warning, i'm off to squirel away my slightly overweight welshies before the fat police descend !!!!

otoh my starving to death dogs will be fine, they're sure not to bother me about those (this bit is wholey sarcastic - doggies are well fed poochies)
 
Thank you, just don't tell him that to his face or you'll make his head even bigger than it is already!

After that first visit and phonecall the inspector went on holiday for 2 weeks but assured me he'd be back to check for "improvements" after that time. 3 weeks later and I had to go to Abu Dhabi for training for 8 weeks with my work and was leaving him with a 14 year old friend. I didn't want her to have to deal with him so I called the day before I was due to go away and he said he had visited 2 days before I called - again, without informing me he was coming and without a call afterwards!!

There was no more mention of my horse's condition after the second visit. I had moved his field (just to keep the inspector happy more than anything, his original field had been approved by the vet weeks before the report) and I think that kept them happy.

What makes me very angry is the state of some horses in showing classes - now THEY are obese - and in fact, several horses on my same yard are twice the width my horse ever was and yet not a peep about them.

Sorry for ranting, it just still makes me angry even now that the whole stupid thing ever happened.
 
LOL TeaBiscuit, I wouldn't worry, they seem happier if your animal has bones sticking out all over the place, so feel free to starve your dogs! Mine is the same, poor starving waif (NOT!)

It really makes you wonder if they are actually aware of the differences in shapes between the breeds when it comes to horses. Wonder if he thought he was just a chubby thoroughbred?
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Tego; your horses looks like a lovely guy, however in that photo, I'd agree and say that yes he is obese. Possibly not dangerously obese but to have an organisation point it out to some owners is exactly what they need from time to time. Welfare organisations often don't know whether owners are novices or experienced, so I guess they just look at the horse and make some sort of judgement on the spot.

No decent welfare organisation would make an appointment to come and visit a horse; that would be defeating the object.

I'm pleased your horse has now lost some weight and all is well again with the world.
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It should be pointed out that in that photo and throughout the time i've had him, you could always feel his ribs and he has always had a wide ass. His bum is pure muscle and yet the amount of people that look at it and say that it's fat is unbelievable.

I think he's probably skinny for a welsh cob! The vet actually told me that now he's a perfect weight for a horse doing hard work but if you compared him to other welsh cobs he'd be considered underweight. Lol, you can't win!
 
And you see that is the trouble. Horses are all individuals, just like us humans. I do think though, when people can confirm that their horses are under vet attention, that this should be enough to get these welfare people off their backs. I've read about so many miscarriages of justice, but I suspect those are pretty small in comparison to the amount of people who are actually causing harm to their animals, whether knowingly or not.
 
Thank you, just don't tell him that to his face or you'll make his head even bigger than it is already!



lol.... bless
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After that first visit and phonecall the inspector went on holiday for 2 weeks but assured me he'd be back to check for "improvements" after that time. 3 weeks later and I had to go to Abu Dhabi for training for 8 weeks with my work and was leaving him with a 14 year old friend. I didn't want her to have to deal with him so I called the day before I was due to go away and he said he had visited 2 days before I called - again, without informing me he was coming and without a call afterwards!!

There was no more mention of my horse's condition after the second visit. I had moved his field (just to keep the inspector happy more than anything, his original field had been approved by the vet weeks before the report) and I think that kept them happy.

What makes me very angry is the state of some horses in showing classes - now THEY are obese - and in fact, several horses on my same yard are twice the width my horse ever was and yet not a peep about them.

Sorry for ranting, it just still makes me angry even now that the whole stupid thing ever happened.



so there was no closure on the matter?
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Nope RememberMe, I went away for the 8 weeks, came home and asked if anyone had heard back from the ILPH and nobody had. Not a peep. I'd left my phone with my mum so they could contact someone but nobody did. After my patronising phonecall in response to my complaint that was the last I heard.

Sorry this took me so long to reply to, just go back from the Smashing Pumpkins gig in Glasgow - AMAZING!!!
 
I would disagree that you could assess a horse (or any other animal) from a photo, or looking over a fence. Condition scoring is an acquired skill, and takes into account the individuality of the animal.
Apart from anything else, the angle of the photo can be completely misleading, as could a look over a field. You need to touch a horse to decide if it is overweight, underweight, or just a funny shape. I've got a cob who looks fat in one light and malnourished in another!
Having said all that, he doesn't look obese to me, he looks about half the size of anything likely to win a cob class, or some native classes, where they are rolling in fat.
I don't think these organisations should be allowed to trespass on a whim in the case of an owner who has a vet involved. They don't have the qualifications or knowledge of the vet. They should be referred to the vet in question, who should tell them to beggar off and do something useful.
They could try pitching in a bit quicker on the really bad cases, but they won't because they're scared of the real villains, so they pick on people smaller than them.
Beneath contempt.
 
The_skewbald, you are right and that's exactly what I said in my letter of complaint to the ILPH - I assume since you guys obviously condition scored my horse correctly to come to the conclusion that he is morbidly obese that you had to catch and handle him? And are you aware that he is world famous for being very bolshy and wary of strangers? To which the reply on the phone was "the inspector did not put hoimself at risk because he assessed your horse from a safe distance and it was obvious that he was obese from a glance across the field".

Now I'm sorry but I was taught that to condition score you have to FEEL for the horses ribs, fat covering etc. Anyone could tell you that. And yet they'll make a decision that determines whether your horse is taken away from you or not based on a quick look from across a field? Nonsense.
 
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