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

The RSPCA are useless and awful, but I’d like to agree with what PPs have said about the SSPCA. They are truly evil.
I’m sure that there are plenty of decent volunteers on a local level but the organisation as a whole isn’t.

I haven’t given them a penny since years ago when a dd found a stray dog (that had almost certainly been abandoned) and was very hungry and frightened. She was a student at the time, in student accomm. and couldn’t keep it except just overnight, but then took it to the RSPCA, telling them NOT to put it to sleep, she’d find a home for it.

Some days later phoned to find out how it was doing - they had already put it to sleep, telling her it ‘wasn’t suitable’ for rehoming. She was distraught, said there’d been nothing wrong with it except that it was distressed and frightened.

Good for Brian May. I hope Chris Packham follows suit. If you've seen the footage obtained on RSPCA assured farms ( it's horrific be warned) you'll know they are basically condoning cruelty to animals.

In a previous world we had many dealings with the RSPCA. With the exception of one notable Inspector, all 'not in our remit' and hard to deal with. I have family in the vet world and they don't rate them either, after years of professional involvement. They could, and should, be so much better and making too much from the emotional pull of their work rather than outcomes.

They’re a shower of shit I loathe them. The general public are gaslight by them.

Are there any larger animal charities worth donating to?

They know fuck all about horses and are totally disinterested in them too. Many examples of them ignoring awful cases that end up being dealt with by smaller charities without the same powers or funding.

I would call the BHS welfare team or WHW if concerned about horses.

I’m fed up of people saying ‘well if he worked in the private sector he would be paid that’ because with his skillset that is likely untrue unless he manages to jump on another gravy train role like the water companies.

Unfortunately no.

animalequality.org.uk/issues/dairy/

In 2022 the CEO of the RSPCA's wage was £162,217

We’ve got a local animal rescue who is like an emergency service. They’re all vegan and care deeply about animals. So lucky to have them nearby as all I hear about the RSPCA are bad things. This rescue will do anything to save an animal, including removing them from dangerous situations with no thought to their own safety.

From what I hear it’s the independent animal rescues across this land who actually care, not the RSPCA.

Chocolate tea pot. I never call them for anything. There's no point.
It's well known by me and everyone I know that the local RSPCA horse centre shot 20 odd horses a few years ago for no real reason other than costs.

I have horses myself, I've taken on a 'loan' pony from the same yard because his owner wasn't feeding them in winter and when he did he was throwing hay just over the gate into mud. The pony in question has mud fever, a painful skin condition which gets worse when exposed to mud. But he had to choose to go in mud or die.
This guy has 3 other horses, big ex-hunters. We are waiting to see if he actually bothers feeding them this year. Otherwise I'll be phoning World Horse Welfare who DO act.
The kicker? We have an RSPCA worker from that local horse sanctuary on the yard.

I have contacted them three times about different animals in distress, they didn't help at all. Once for a starving trapped bird (they didnt have the resources), once for an injured feral cat (they wouldnt be able to attend until I'd captured it in a trap?) and once for neglected horses (they'd already investigated a report and the horses were fine- very clearly not, open wounds etc). Very upsetting! I won't bother contacting them again, will try to help animals myself.

There's an area of land near me with up to about 30 horses at any one time tethered to the ground with about 2m grazing space and no food or water. They are so malnourished and have been there for as long as I can remember, there must have been thousands of calls over the years both my locals and passers by (it's alongside a major road into a big town) but nope because they are owned by travellers who say they nip down and feed them every few days they don't even attempt to investigate. I've stopped driving that way into town as it makes me so sad to see .

Years ago got a dog from them, turned out to have health issues and very aggressive,no help. About 25 years ago, living in the edge of a village, quarter of an acre garden,a stream, bridge over it into fields. My dog had died,DHS dog was 15, we had lots of animals including chicken.rspca inspector checked all our animals, said we had a medium garden. I told her a medium garden is 50ft! She said as we had a bitch we had to have a male,2 bitches couldn't live together. When doggo got to 15, we bought a bitch puppy,6 months later we got another bitch puppy,free, private rescue. I met a lady who became a good friend at work. She used to work for them. She left in disgust. I had a dog from the Blue cross,they have a policy they don't put a healthy dog down! we met the owner,took our dog. Got hers home she was so aggressive,you couldn't put your feet on the floor! We told them to come and collect her. They refused saying we had signed adoption papers. She also leaked urine the whole time, and was incorrectly diagnosed. We had this with the private rescue later on, very simply treated by our long-term vet.

We had a family of feral stray cats that my mum was feeding. My mum ask if they could catch them as there were 4 males round the mum. They said they were fine as they were being fed. She said she would have them all but couldn't catch them and was told "oh you can't just have them, you'd have to be home checked. Didn't say anything when mum pointed out that she was the only one who actually cared about them. She tried cats protection, who wouldn't help because she had spoken to the RSPCA.
A tiny local charity trapped them in the end and they lived with my mum.

We found a muntjac that had been hit by a car. They refused to help as they aren't native. My vet came out to get it.

One positive, they were good when I reported a dog in a car in the blazing sun

I knew someone who worked at a local animal rescue and used to go out at all hours collecting animals as she knew if she didn't the rspca would either leave or just put them down.

Thank you 👍🏻

Oh, I got that wrong! Was Dogs Trust (who are just as bad tbh), not the RSPCA (will try and edit my earlier post). I cannot edit my earlier post - my bad. So it was Dogs Trust who rehomed a dangerous dog...but so did the RSPCA (but the Dogs Trust owner died)

BUT, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11992905/Rescue-dog-owner-lost-arm-pet-bit-suing-RSPCA-200-000.html

https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2023-10-20/charity-which-rehomed-dog-which-mauled-owner-stops-taking-in-xl-bullies - they claimed to have stop taking XL Bullies, but if you look at their website...they just now clarify them as mongrels instead.

Pretty much this. They won't come out to an animal if it has water. What is the point of them? They only seem to do anything when it's high profile - lots of starving dogs/cats/horses and then whinge that it's going to cost them a lot to look after them.

I see them as existing to raise funds and make adverts and run themselves.

One of the big charities to avoid giving to.

Oh goodness!

Do you have a source for the anecdote about the dog killing the owner? I have someone I need to show that to?

Thanks 🙂

Because the police don't even investigate murder, sexual assault and severe violence - they're not gonna care about animals - because they're too busy arresting people for saying a woman can't have a penis.

Why are so many people not calling the police when they see a crime happening?

That said, the police's animal/wildlife crime depts have always been massively underfunded.
The RSPCA shouldn't have the power to prosecute, it's yet another example of government doing nothing and semi-outsourcing to charities.

They're absolutely useless. A horse escaped into my friends field and it was literally skin and bone. Like a walking skeleton. Called the rspca, turned out it belonged to a neighbor a few fields away and was being neglected. Rspca officer just walked it back to its own field and left it there. Couldn't take any action apparently.

Also called them for an animal hoarder nearby who keeps animals in terrible conditions. RSPCA removed a few of them but the conditions for the remaining ones haven't improved and straight away the hoarder started advertising that he now has space for some more.