Why are the RSPCA being attacked for followíng up a complaint!

Allover said:
I am sorry i cant understand this, have just been reading a thread on here, and its not the first, and it seems people are thinking the RSPCA are a bunch of control freaks running round trying to pester innocent owners.

I know it is not nice to have someone come on your property and investigate your animal and your husbandry practices but i believe that if you have done nothing wrong then whats the problem.

Not all owners are good to their animals and there a very few people out there protecting their rights.

Would they not be the first people you would call if YOU saw a neglected\abused or injured animal.

I think we should be grateful that there is a service like this in our country that we dont have to pay for.
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I don't agree with you at all, the RSPCA all too often don't act fast enough when help is needed because they are waisting time with the general public's complaints, that are not welfare cases in the first place. IMHO they are as much use as a chocolate tea pot.
 
FlorenceBassey said:
I don't agree with you at all, the RSPCA all too often don't act fast enough when help is needed because they are waisting time with the general public's complaints, that are not welfare cases in the first place. IMHO they are as much use as a chocolate tea pot.
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Dont get this, "wasting time with the general publics complaints" unfortunately they do not know wether these complaints are genuine or not untill the complaint has been investigated.

I do wonder though why there are not equine specialists within each RSPCA catchment area
 
The RSPCA and the SSPCA are 2 different charities, please don't get them mixed up.

The Scottish SPCA only work in Scotland and have the same caution and charge powers as the police. They carry out there own investigations, caution and charge if they have too, then report to the procurator fiscal.
Most SSPCA Inspectors come from farming, veterinary or police backgrounds.
I have only ever had good dealings with the SSPCA, I found them to be very professional and knowledgable.

The RSPCA in my opinion are a mickey mouse organisation only interested in media stunts.
 
I live in NI so only know the USPCA and I think they are excellent - they get involved in all sorts of situations from stopping organised dog fights to rescuing wild animals that have been injured. Maybe they are different to the RSPCA because I just can't understand the vitriol against them on this forum sometimes.
 
FlorenceBassey said:
I don't agree with you at all, the RSPCA all too often don't act fast enough when help is needed because they are waisting time with the general public's complaints, that are not welfare cases in the first place. IMHO they are as much use as a chocolate tea pot.
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What's there not to agree about??!!!!
Don't act fast enough cause they are wasting time with the general public complaints ( WHAT ARE THEY THERE FOR) how do they know they aren't welfare cases if they don't follow up EVERY CALL????
I'm sure the RSPCA get pissed off with all the fake calls they get for no reason which is wasting their time and taking time away from genuine welfare cases. Maybe the general public need educating more to cut down these ( not needed calls)
 
xloopylozzax said:
im sure there were reports of JG being reported several times before the massive rescue effort ensued (and publicity).

you could argue they should have done something sooner. whats that saying, no point locking the stable door when the horse has bolted...
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There is a whole lot more to the JG story than has been openly reported. And as another member has mentioned the RSPCA are limited in their powers and also limited by our Welfare Law.

For those of you who are interested in the case I would recommended reading the official documentation from the courts. It makes for sad but interesting reading:

http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/media/judgments/2010/gray-others-v-rspca
 
Monster...
What more would you like to know?
He was an Welsh Springer.
He was 11 years old a good age.
He was picked up by a young inspector in a van.
She took him back to the centre and put him to sleep, all within 8 hours of him first getting out.
A justified reason was never given.
Anything else youwould like to know?
 
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1) The RSPCA are hugely under resourced to cope with all the calls they get, so yes there are bound to be calls that they cannot get to, not because they can't be arsed or bothered, but because they don't have the staff to physically!
2) I'm a little fed up with people accusing the RSPCA of only going after innocent owners and ignoring the true offenders, if you look at the RSPCA success conviction rate it is around 95 -97% so howcome you call them innocent??
3) No most RS inspectors won't be equine specialists, there will be a regional equine expert but they maybe several counties away. But it doesn't take an expert to know at what point an animal is 'caseable' and I use that word instead of thin or underweight, because one persons opinion of what is thin is totally different to anothers, the rs's opinion is based on a vet's say so. If an inspector is concerned then it will be on the say so of a vet as to whether a case is prosecutable. If the inspector doesn't call in a vet then it is usually based on experience that the weight is such that they would not get veterinary support, I realise though that there will be mistakes, within any area mistakes happen.
4) Interviews, yes anyone interviewed of course has the right to remain silent, but surely if the evidence is overwhelming isn't it in the person's interest to explain why?????!
5) No they don't have powers, they will never claim to have powers, if refused entry and evidence is gained allowing a warrant then they will attend with police..
6) An Rspca inspector is expected to be an 'expert' in every area, no they can't be, if you'd rather call the WHW then brilliant at least you know an equine specialist will deal with the call, but don't not support the rspca because if it turns out to be a case the WHW will pass it onto the rspca to pursue, using rspca resources......

I hope that may have answered a few questions????
 
I think people dont understand that they are just doing their job and have to go see.

But also I have called them out to pick up a kitten what was on the road, anyway they asked me for a £30 donation for them to take it away.

and

When I wanted to adopt a dog from them they would not let me have one as I worked a few hours a day but the woman down the street on benefits got one, didnt work, couldnt pay for vets bills, so would have to back to them for cheap vet care?

Anyway thats why I am not particularly keen on their policies.
 
Unfortunately i think the dog adoption policies are a bit rigid, my mum is in the same situation, but no adoption agency would consider them not just the RSPCA

As for the 30 pound donation, would they have left it if you had not paid, seems a bit harsh, maybe they could have given it to tha lady down the street on benefits!:)
 
Kaylum said:
But also I have called them out to pick up a kitten what was on the road, anyway they asked me for a £30 donation for them to take it away.



When I wanted to adopt a dog from them they would not let me have one as I worked a few hours a day but the woman down the street on benefits got one, didnt work, couldnt pay for vets bills, so would have to back to them for cheap vet care?

Anyway thats why I am not particularly keen on their policies.
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1) So they asked for a donation towards the cost of attending and caring for the animal, without donations the rspca wouldn't exist to help, but even so they would have still collected it even without a donation

2) Yes agree their and other charities requirements are a bit harsh with regard to adoptions, it's with the best intentions though the animals going into care have already suffered and therefore they're after the best homes possible, and unfortunately they don't know you from adam when you come into the shelter, but some of the shelters if you explain will bend rules. With regard to the anyone on the social adopting, on a whole I believe they have now put a stop to that, in most shelters anyway, certainly my old local one changed it's policy about 5 or 6 years ago.
 
Well I support them and the work they do. I donate by direct debit each month as I know they do good, despite the bad stories, they seem to get a terribly bad rap. I support them and probably always will no matter what others say or think, if I think they are doing some good then I will continue to support them
 
competitiondiva said:
1) So they asked for a donation towards the cost of attending and caring for the animal, without donations the rspca wouldn't exist to help, but even so they would have still collected it even without a donation

2) Yes agree their and other charities requirements are a bit harsh with regard to adoptions, it's with the best intentions though the animals going into care have already suffered and therefore they're after the best homes possible, and unfortunately they don't know you from adam when you come into the shelter, but some of the shelters if you explain will bend rules. With regard to the anyone on the social adopting, on a whole I believe they have now put a stop to that, in most shelters anyway, certainly my old local one changed it's policy about 5 or 6 years ago.
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First of all I didnt have £30 to give to a kitten that was not mine. Do they ask for donations from people who report other people? I think not.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
My thoughts exactly. They also 'caution' people and interview them in circumstances which the police would never do. They actually have no right to do this but they do not make it clear to people that any conversation with them is on a completely voluntary basis. IMO if they are going to investigate complaints about horses they should have some knowledge of horses.
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As someone who works in prosecution, I can assure you that they do have the right to caution and interview people. If you knew anything about how the legal system in the UK works, anyone who is suspected of an offence has to be cautioned before any questions are asked about the offence. So once it is believed that offence as occurred (not just by an allegation, but should an inspector call on someone and then have reasonable grounds to believe that an offence has occurred), the person has to be cautioned before any further questions can be put to the person regarding the offence. Once someone has been cautioned, the interview has to be either carried out on tape, or Q and A'd in a pocket book.
In the work I do, we caution and interview on tape. The person is advised that they do not have to answer questions andn that they are free to leave at any time, however the court may draw inferences from their refusal to answer questions. If they do decide to leave, and do not return, they are summonsed to court where they can answer the questions in front of a judge. They are also advised that they are free to leave at any time and the door is unlocked. This is a requirement of PACE 1984 and the RSPCA interview according to PACE. However, if the person suspected of an offence is arrested by the Police and taken to a station, they are not there voluntarily and are not allowed to leave.
 
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Overall they probably do a good job, but my experiences with them have been irritating. The worst was when a heron crash-landed in my neighbour's garden, breaking a wing and injuring it's leg. It was a pitiful sight. I suggested asking the next-door farmer to shoot it. Neighbour disagreed, and rang the RSPCA. Oh no, certainly don't shhot it. Yes, they would come out. They did, but 36 hours later, when the bird had been in agony all that time. "Oh" they said. "Oh dear". "We'll have to have it put to sleep" and started to try to pack it into a carrying contraption. Mercifully, it died while they were doing it. It was a long time ago, but I've never forgotten it. One clean shot and it would have been dead within minutes of the accident. There's a bit too much PC about the organisation for my liking, and a lack of good old-fashioned commonsense.
 
Can I just bring up the following points
1) The RSPCA has to deal with thousands of cases up and down the country with no goverment funding.
2) The animal welfare laws (in my eyes) are not sufficent in this country. The animal has to be suffering so much before anything is done, and the punishment not sufficent, this is not the RSCPA's fault.
3) In most cases, they try their best. For all you who criticise think of those who work long hours for very little pay looking after the animals that are rescued, rehabilitating them etc, how would they feel if they read some of your comments?

I do however think that the RSPCA need to improve by doing the following...
1) More inspectors, all over the country, there are not enough in the north.
2)Speacialist inspectors who are trained specifically. (e.g Done BHS exams for horse inspectors)
3) Less lenient in cases of obvious cruelty.
4) Have better/more facilties so they can take more animals away quickly when needed

I have phoned the RSPCA about a mare and foal an other horses belonging to some idiots near me. No inspector came out and mare and foal are now dead.
Also a friend of friend loaned her horse out to someone (who was well known, on loads of commitees etc), went to check on her horse, and found it was nearly dying. She phoned the RSPCA and they said LEAVE the horse until they could investigate further. She ignored them and picked up her horse, having to step over a dead horse to get to its stable. Her vet said it would not of lived another week, and I have seen pictures of it and can well believe it. Also the RSPCA removed the other horses but left the shetlands. Poor things, the lady also used to work for the RSPCA?!
So I understand both sides of the argument here.
 
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