To ask about your opinion on the RSPCA after Brian May resignation

RSPCA are a fucking disgrace

I once called them for advice - we had three dogs at the time, and two of them had massive vet bills (from accidents) that wiped us out. Then the third had an abscess, and we had nothing left. In in desperation, I called them to ask for advice on whether they knew about any animal welfare funds to help those in need. They took my details and our vet's details because they "want to be able to get in touch", then a) said there was nothing available because they're not that kind of charity ("We're primarily about marketing awareness and enforcement"), and b) threatened to take us to court for criminal animal cruelty if the dog hadn't been seen at that specific vet within three days.

Funnily enough, I haven't donated to the RSPCA since, and never will. Very, very little of their funds go to actually helping animals in need, which is kind of the opposite of what their marketing material suggests; if it were any other organisation, they'd be destroyed in the courts for deceptive marketing.

In the end, a complete stranger gave us the money on a "pay it forward" basis, which we've been doing ever since our fortunes improved.

@GraceAnatomy god bless you, giving Annie a loving family in her final years after the profound neglect she suffered.

The sheer arrogance and pathetic cowardice of that SSPCA woman. She did not have a leg to stand on.

What I want to know is on what basis do the SSPCA or the RSPCA have the power to prosecute for animal abuse? Should that power not belong to the police?

Petty tyrants and idiots should not ever be given such power. Who are the SSPCA and RSPCA accountable to?

Another one with the SSPCA, but I'm guessing that PP's description of them as their 'evil twin' is not far off the mark.

I recall the case of Fiona the sheep, who got trapped at the bottom of a cliff for some time with nowhere to go, and who thus got a lot of publicity for being 'Britain's loneliest sheep'.

Some enterprising, compassionate local farmers took it upon themselves to plan and carry out her rather complicated rescue, and they succeeded in getting her to safety, the SSPCA obviously not having been bothered at all.

However, once she had been rescued and her feelgood story was all across the national news, then the SSPCA swung into action and got themselves in the limelight, trying to make people assume that they had been in some way involved and exploiting the case in urging people to donate to them.

Good for Brian - a man of genuine principal.

It’s well known in the charity sector that they’ve always been ineffective and salaries are wildly inflated

Are you now mother of a ferret?

I heard so many bad things about them recently. I wonder when this is going to blow up into a huge scandal?

Well done to Brian May for getting out of it. My opinion of him is even higher. (Did anyone see the recent documentary about Brian and the badgers? It's well worth watching.)

Can't say I'm surprised. I've heard first hand from a few friends and relatives about the RSPCAs refusal to help them. I support several animal charities,but this is one that I have consistently refused to donate to.

Would the police not deal with that as i've seen them on TV going after hare coursers?

I don't understand why it's still left to a charity to deal with animal welfare crimes and prosecutions.

From what an ex-inspector told me, those working now cover a much larger area rather than just local so are very limited to how many cases they can deal with and imagine calls have to be prioritised.
I'm not sure the rehoming centres are fully funded from HQ.

Sounds just like the SPCA in my country. I prefer to donate to other organisations, who actually care about animals and do something to help them.

This post is a bit of a read, and refers to RSPCA's evil twin the SSPCA.

In spring of 2011 I found a very skinny cat with matted fur, she was so tiny and severly underweight and had numerous huge matted patches all over her fur, she was a sorry sight. No chip, no tag on her collar and despite trawling through the web searching for posts that were about a missing cat, couldn't locate the owner.

I kept her safe and fed her, cleared out the shed for a temporary home and I called SSPCA. There was no way I could take her into my house as she had fleas, I already had a cat so I couldn't risk a flea infestation in my house, so it was the shed or nothing. Anyway, a woman from SSPCA came the following afternoon, took a look at her and said "She's wearing a collar so she must belong to someone. Let her go to find her way home" that was it. She left with an air of arrogance which made me feel like I had done the wrong thing to even call them. And the collar that she had on looked like it was about to disintegrate.

I am not exagerating, but if you ran your hand to stroke her you could feel every bone, I counted 18 matted patches. I nicknamed her Orphan Annie. Friendliest and affectionate personality. She was awesome.

I contacted a cat rescue who said to bring her to us, but they couldn't take her for a few days. I felt so guilty that i couldnt take her inside, she had shelter, food, water in my shed which was better than the alternative of roaming with a hungry belly. I couldn't let her go with no intervention to get her help, but the rescue reassured me that the shed would be fine temporary accommodation.

When in the care of the cat rescue they had her assessed by their vet, she had lots of missing teeth, gum disease, malnourished and was an elderly cat aged around 14 years old. The x-rays showed she had broken bones in 2 of her front legs which hadn't healed properly so her paws were pointing at a slight angle. They dealt with the fleas, the matted fur and a food plan to help her gain weight. She had a scar which showed she was previously speyed.

Despite all the attempts to find an owner, still no-one came forward. So I went back to cat rescue and brought wee Annie home. She got on brilliantly with my cat and they bonded practically straight away.

In the Autumn, nesrly 6 months after finding her, I received a visit from the SSPCA who stood on my doorstep and accused me of mistreating and starving my cat. The obnoxious fool of an officer threated that she was now investigating me and she would remove all pets from my care if she seen any sign of neglect. Annie was gaining weight but being an elderly cat with a rocky past she did look frail but she was loved and adored, she was definitely heavier, groomed and an absolute joy to own.

I was called a liar as she did not believe that I had ever contacted them about her. Apparently there was no record of me calling or their visit/refusal to help me. I gave them the details of the cat rescue and told her to go do thorough research before ever coming back to my door again.

Cat rescue verified everything and I received a note through my letterbox from SSPCA saying that no further action would be taken. She didn't even have the decency to speak to me in person. Just snuck up like a fucking ninja to shove a pissy wee note with no apology like a coward.

Annie lived with us for 3 years and 5 months until she passed away peacefully in my arms. I don't know what happened to her before coming into my life but I made sure that she had more love and attention to make up for her crappy stray life.

I will never ever donate a penny to them, in my opinion they are absolute despicable cretins.

RSPCA smell worse than the farm manure heap.

Begging’s legal - misleading begging on false pretences should be.

Charity Commission fail. Again.

I agree. I only donate to local small charities where I know where the money is going.

absolutely rigt that he reseigned

bloody uselss- i ffound a cat that looke very ill-no ollar back when they werent chipped-tthey said woulnt help noone available very dissmissve took it to the vet myself

I was advised by vets to call them as my cat was one of a number badly injured by some idiot neighbour placing barbed wire, nails, metal and glass spikes everywhere (laid as traps).
Summarising but it's not allowed where we lived anyway due to public footpath and presence of dogs, children and wildlife as well as pets

Neighbour wanted to keep kids and animals off her property (and buys a home right by a footpath, school and woodland...the mind boggles!)

RSPCA couldn't have cared less even though the staff member said it wasn't allowed and was dangerous and looked at my cats ruined leg, but said phone council who said I need to phone RSPCA and it was a pointless circle. Nobody interested at all

Dangerous stuff is still there three years on, animals continue to be harmed and who knows when a kid might too, if they venture off footpath and come into contact with it on the verges!

I agree.

I don't donate to Big Charities for that reason and of the Big Charities, I'd put RSPCA amongst the worst.

Will not touch them with a barge pole.

I’ve only ever heard good things about Blue Cross

Years ago I use to volunteer for them. The vets there I couldn't fault but the management, were disgusting. I remember one dog had a heart condition treatable just couldn't excise, and they wanted to euthanise it. She had 10 days in which to be rehomed before they put her down. I appealed in the local paper for someone to adopt her as she was a sweet loving little thing, and she went to a lady who was housebound who totally adored the dog and she was perfect as she couldnt walk a dog anyway.The management was furious I did it without permission and had "gone behind their backs" and i was told they didnt need me anymore.

I lost all faith in them after I found a dog locked in a car on a hot day. They promised to come and investigate but never did turn up despite many phone calls to them. They just weren't interested.

This is shocking. Is Blue Cross a worthwhile charity to donate too?

I don’t trust charities anymore

i think they whole thing with Captain Moore and his daughter, Naomi Campbell and oxfam with these half nake girls. Most of the funding comes from government and there is a lot of tax exemption

They specialise in making heartbreaking adverts that raise a huge amount of money that they spend on executive offices and luxury cars for those at the top!

I have several disgusting experiences I could share, but there are plenty here already.

I’ve also called them before, and was told to walk away and leave the animal. Fortunately a local vet helped. I donate to animal sanctuaries now.

Our dog was investigated by them as apparently it was too thin, except they failed to take into account that it was a racing breed so meant to be thin, had a shiny cost, bright eyes and clearly well looked after. Clearly had no clue what to look for when there are countless animals being abused.

Yes not great experience here either though admittedly was some years ago now. Two situations: first I found a litter of abandoned kittens in a park near us. They refused to come and said the mum would be back even though they were there for weeks, no mum in sight. Second, I found an injured cat, which didn't seem too bad so I took her in and they put her down a few days later. I was a bit shocked and asked why. They said she would have needed major surveyor and it was a risk. My SIL worked at a vets reception and she too said they had a reputation for putting down many animals for reasons which didn't seem to quite make sense to the staff who worked at the vets.