To be so angry at hearing yet more stories of RSPCA refusing to help animals.

[Meadowland]

I've heard of 3 examples already this week of RSPCA not helping animals in need. They are one of the richest charities in this country, receiving millions of pounds in legacies and donations each year.
And yet it is always left to the smaller animal charities who have very little funding to help these animals.

YANBU. The RSPCA are tangled up in their own restrictions, red tape and tick lists. I would no longer give them a penny. The small independent rescues do so much of the real work, and on tiny money. I had no idea until I started fostering myself.

Yanbu

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-55587558 upsetting to hear but maybe this has something to do with it?

20yrs ago I volunteered for the RSPCA. Raised thousands for them giving up my weekends and helped set up and stock a new shop travelling all over town collecting stock. Found out the head office had redecorated their offices with expensive furniture after receiving a £1million legacy from someone’s will. I’m sure that person wanted the money to go directly to animals not on furniture. I no longer volunteered for them

No, @FirTree31, they've been abysmal for years.

OP, YANBU.

YANBU. They don't seem to know their arse from their elbow, animal experts they are not!

Reported our local park keeper for feeding his packed lunches to the rabbits in the enclosure instead of veg or pellets. RSPCA had a word with him, came back and told me no action would be taken as ham sandwiches and crisps aren't poisonous food items. They got new rabbits shortly afterwards, it obviously killed them.

In my experience of rescuing rabbits, feeding them anything other than pellets and veg will guarantee gut stasis which is life threatening and can kill within 24 hours. Lost all respect for them after that.

As much as I dislike some of the RSPCAs policies and practices, they don't have unlimited space in shelters, unlimited volunteers and foster homes, and their fundraising will have been hit by shop closures.
Other animal rescue charities large and small will be in the same boat, and unfortunately the number of unwanted animals will be rocketing as dimwit purchasers realise that their furlough WFH puppies need feeding, training and lots of time.

It would also help if arseholes didn’t buy/treat pets as disposable.

They are the reasons that animal charities are breaking under the strain.

For what it is worth, I’ve often called on the sspca to help with distressed animals and they’ve never failed me yet.

@Meadowland

I've heard of 3 examples already this week of RSPCA not helping animals in need. They are one of the richest charities in this country, receiving millions of pounds in legacies and donations each year. And yet it is always left to the smaller animal charities who have very little funding to help these animals.

Whether or not you are being unreasonable depends entirely on the situations, which no one can gage from your post. There's a big difference in the RSPCA not removing an animal from a neglectful situation and the RSPCA not taking in a lockdown puppy, now that the owners have decided that it's too much for them to handle.

If you are talking about a cruelty or neglect case, the RSPCA have limited powers to act and have to act within the law when removing an animal, or else the courts will just return the animal to the owner.

The legal hurdles for them to forcibly take an animal or to attempt prosecution of someone are high. There is quite a high bar to what counts as animal cruelty or neglect

The park keeper feeding rabbits a sandwich would not get a conviction for cruelty in court.

They can't just charge into save an animal.

For every animal you hear about them not helping, they have helped several.

They are understaffed and underfunded.
They often have one inspector covering multiple counties, they simply cannot be everywhere.

And unfortunately, the law isn’t helpful. It isn’t illegal for a dog to be kept outside. A sheet of plastic is sadly lawfully sufficient to be ‘shelter’.
On the rare occasion the courts do accept an animal cruelty case, the penalties are so small it’s barely covers the cost of the court case.

It’s sad because they are a charity, and yet the only organisation able to deal with animal welfare crimes. They should be government funded. It’s ludicrous they aren’t.

@MojoMoon

The legal hurdles for them to forcibly take an animal or to attempt prosecution of someone are high. There is quite a high bar to what counts as animal cruelty or neglect

The park keeper feeding rabbits a sandwich would not get a conviction for cruelty in court.

They can't just charge into save an animal.

Agreed, but they could educate him on it stasis in rabbits and teach him what the preferred food is, yes? They did not do that. They claimed to have checked with their vet who said it was fine, so they didn't actually ask him to stop.

When I told my vet they had checked with their vet she laughed out loud and said there's no way in hell a vet would ever sest it's appropriate to feed a rabbit ham sandwiches every day. The inspector was lying, for what reason I don't know. Maybe to make her job easier, close lots of cases quicker, or maybe funding means there is no imaginary RSPCA vet for my branch? Who knows, but they're liars.

Park keeper gets through so many rabbits I've lost count since then. Average life span seems to be a few weeks only under his care.

I don't trust the RSPCA and would not give them money. I do give to Blue Cross who say they never put a healthy animal down and the Cats protection league.

What lochjess said.

The law needs to change to protect animals more. Although they struggle enough to protect people sometimes.

But make no mistake, the lockdown animal dumps are a disgrace. And are down to people. They should be fined the cost of rehoming or lifetime kennel/cattery/hutch or whatever fees.

I’m so tired of reading things like this.

@LochJessMonster

I agree . We called the rspca as some travellers were keeping dogs outside chained up in the snow. One was a mini daschund , so not exactly a hardy dog . And were told as long as they had shelter and water they would do nothing . Shelter was a bit of metal .

Heartbreaking .

I reported some horses locally who were tied up by a busy road with no water, they told me they couldn't help.

Unless there is a way to extract money from the owner and/or a photo opportunity, the rspca just aren't interested

Wouldn't give them a penny!

Officers?! No folks, you are charity workers.

Hated the way they've spent a fortune perusing legacies, where the person leaving the money was clearly not in their sound mind. Eg leaving much loved sons and daughter out of wills in favour.

They know nothing to very little about livestock but fiddle in farming affairs.

@Happenchance. These were clear cases of neglect and the RSPCA wouldn't even come and investigate. My local case strapped shelter came out and sorted it.
@LochjessMonster . The RSPCA receives income in excess of £400 million per year.
@caringcarer and @squarepinks. Refusing to help animals in distress like these is tragically the norm.

Can’t believe someone said the rspca is underfunded. What a joke.

They have more money than they care to spend on animals. The only time they help is if they can smell money or there is a tv crew behind them.

I guess what I am saying is if you do give to animal charities PLEASE consider giving to the smaller local animal charities instead.
They have hardly any funds but work tirelessly to help animals in distress.

The rspca is badly run. I would never give them a penny.

@alwaysandforeverhere.
Exactly.
I once asked the RSPCA if they could spare some of their hundreds of millions of pounds to prevent a small local animal rescue centre from closing down through lack of money.
No chance.
You're right though, they'll turn up if the tv cameras are there....
I wish something could be done. It makes me so angry.

I'm not saying you're wrong, as I have no experience with the RSPCA, but it's clear that a lot of people don't know what constitutes animal neglect.

Lots of people leave RSPCA money in their wills as well as the collections they do.