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 have been useless when I've reputed neglected horses.

The RSPCA is either neglectful and over reactive depending on who you speak to

I agree the fact that they are a charity has been lost so now people dont realise they cant remove animals without police and support from the law ( which is pants in lots of areas)

YABU. Just because they are a charity set up to help animals doesnt mean they are big enough to help every suffering animal in the UK. If you dont like them give your money to other animal charities which also wont be able to help every suffering animal in the UK.

Rspca refused to help a cat that was booted out by its owners they said I should stop feeding it and they might be able to help I wasn't feeding the cat he broke in to get the food they said again they won't intervene while the cat is being "fed" 3 months later he died he would have made a wonderful pet I just couldn't take him in as I already had three

During lockdown one a neighbours cat was being neglected (different area) for years she was constantly having kittens then her owner abandoned her with the boyfriend and took off without the cat no one wanted this poor cat he fed her occasionally I contacted a local rescue explaining pregnant abandoned neglected etc she was out ASAP collected her and her son (same owner) got her son castrated and rehomed within a few weeks the girl cat might end up being a long term resident as she was so traumatised

This is why I support my local rescue

The RSPCA criteria for animal neglect are shocking.

Despite their attempts to make themselves look good via nice wholesome TV shows, I would never give them a penny.

@Porcupineintherough.
But there are just too many examples of them not helping at all, not even willing to investigate, let alone take it further.
I speak from personal experience, as well as those of friends and colleagues.

I still buy things from our local RSPCA charity shop, but otherwise do not support. Some years ago I reported a case of neglect to them - some small furries that a well meaning but clearly learning disabled adult had bought. The inspector who came out to give her her due was wonderful and managed to persuade the gentlemen to release the furries to her for rehoming. When I contacted them, I'd been asked if I would be willing to support the RSPCA going forward. Naively I assumed that would be something like helping at events as a volunteer. And then I was inundated with phone calls and emails and postal requests for money. I asked the local charity shop branch if they'd ever been told I'd been willing to volunteer. No, they hadn't.

As a professional dog carer and walker, I signed up a rescue lurcher for walkies about a year ago. The dog had come from a RSPCA rescue centre, where she'd been for several weeks. The new owner had been concerned about how skinny she was, so took her to the vet within days of adopting her. She was absolutely riddled with worms! Her inoculation records were also confused and contradictory. (She's turned into an absolutely lovely healthy dog now).

[quote Meadowland]@Porcupineintherough.
But there are just too many examples of them not helping at all, not even willing to investigate, let alone take it further.
I speak from personal experience, as well as those of friends and colleagues.[/quote]
I helped remove horses from a woman who had severely neglected them and the RSPCA had refused to intervene- two of the 4 had to be PTS on the day, one was PTS two months later after the vet tried to improve its liver function, and one lived another couple of years but had health issues as a result.

I have also seen them accuse the owner of well treated horses of abuse because they didn't have rugs on in the winter (Shetland ponies!!).

The RSPCA criteria for animal neglect are shocking they don’t make the criteria.

The case of @Theunamedcat - sadly because you were feeding the cat, technically it wasn’t abandoned.

We’ve had it where a cat isn’t being fed at home - obviously that should be neglect. However because neighbours were feeding it, it was a healthy weight and therefore the RSPCA couldn’t seize it.
Say they did seize it. The vet report would say healthy weight. The owner could say they were feeding it. No proof otherwise.
The court would throw the case out.

I think YABU. We’re in the middle of a terrible pandemic, the NHS is at breaking point. Maybe the RSPCA are under-staffed too (covid, isolation, home schooling etc).

There are more important things to focus on right now.

I wasn't feeding the cat i made it clear no one was feeding the cat but he got so hungry he literally broke into my house to access my cats food they ignored this and the cat who was less than 18 months old and could have been rehomed in a heartbeat he was wonderful my three hated him passionately (well two out of three did my third would have a cattery full of friends if he could) he needed help he got none when the rspca made it clear they were not helping the neighbours tried to persuade the owner to turn him in she refused point blank refused! He got run over one day after hunting for food on the opposite side of the main road waste of a decent cat

@SheldonesqueIsUnwell

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.

This

This

This

Yanbu

They are very difficult to rescue from. The staff at the two centres that we visited seemed very suspicious of our motives and we couldn't understand why.
We , eventually, managed to rescue a cat that was deemed suitable for a family with young children from them. Yet they weren't happy to let us adopt her as we had young children!
We were subjected to a huge barrage of questions it we were eventually deemed worthy.

When we went to adopt a dog, they wouldn't even let us look at the dogs, we were told to look through a photo album.

As to responding to a report regarding badly treated horses... don't get me started.

OP, I am on several horse related sites. Over and over again I have seen people post photos and video of horses in terrible conditions. People report the RSPCA seem to visit and do nothing. Often people mention not bothering to contact the RSPCA and opting to use other welfare charities. I think their reputation is ruined now and their idea of acceptable welfare standards incredibly low.

Some horses locally were in a field full of ragwort, when people complained about that on social media people told them to mind their own business. The RSPCA didn't care then either, ragwort is OK as long as horses have water according to them.

For info, it's not. It's toxic and screws up the horse's liver.

@FirTree31

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

Unlikely, as that's an article about a different charity

We stopped supporting them many years ago following TWO incidents of an out-and-out refusal to help with injured and sick animals.

They’re a shameful bunch with loadsamoney.

Their latest TV adverts turn my stomach, as I know they’re accumulating more and more money.

To$$ers.

@purpleproses ragwort isnt usually a problem if it's living, animals like horses know to avoid it. Problems come when its fried in hay or when the animals are under fed and desperate.

dried in hay

[quote Porcupineintherough]@purpleproses ragwort isnt usually a problem if it's living, animals like horses know to avoid it. Problems come when its fried in hay or when the animals are under fed and desperate.[/quote]
Well that's good to know at least. These animals had no water either though so who knows.

[quote Porcupineintherough]@purpleproses ragwort isnt usually a problem if it's living, animals like horses know to avoid it. Problems come when its fried in hay or when the animals are under fed and desperate.[/quote]
A field full of it, though? It's downright irresponsible.

I refuse to donate to the RSPCA. I used to love watching them on tv, and I wanted to volunteer to help animals. Countless real life situations revealed that they were not interested in helping.
Rabbit welfare fund are a brilliant charity. When we found dozens of rabbits neglected, a network of small, independent rescues stepped in to help. RWF put their money where their mouth was and funded the bunny's vet bills, including vaccinations and neutering.

I also love Cats protection. We've adopted a few cats from them as a family, and they've always been great.

@ginoclocksomewhere I'm inclined to agree. You only get a field full when the land is being hideously overgrazed - the ragwort takes over because it's the only thing not eaten. Piss poor land management.

I’ve had a few dealings with them over my adult life (asking for help with injured animals / rehoming / taking in dead pets to scan etc etc) Terrible. Utterly terrible.
I always donate to smaller charities, don’t take animals to them and avoid them as much as I can.