Rspca

[xylaria]

They do some good in one area Hugh... their animal hospitals. Hospitals, not rescue centres.

My friends cat wouldn't be alive were it not for the fact that she was able to get treatment for free at one and I know of other similar stories.

The rest of your statement I totally agree with.

Don't forget folks that the RSPCA do not have a legal right of entry even if they like to act as if they do.

Every cat I have rung them about, their answer is to euthanise them. A fox at the side of busy road with half its face denuded, was: "could you corner it". A dog getting kicked to death by crack heads living next door to my parents:"we will come around monday".

PDSA and the blue cross do much more in their hospitals. The rspca around here have a really bad reputation for killing animals. Dover docks massacre level killing. Animals certainly dont come first with them, people dont either.

 

[Mouse040]

The RSPCA is not and has never been, an arm of government - it is a private body run by its members. Its transformation into a political campaigning body instead of an animal welfare charity has nothing to do with government and everything to do with the agenda it is pursuing.

Does that mean a carpentry workshop who lays off staff due to the regulation changes made by the government (hse) has something to do with the government 'no it is just having to change to comply and not always for the better I in no way condone all of its actions but simpifse with the circumstances which have changed there practices and think its very sad as without a body such as them who would you call when in need

 

[Mesquite]

The RSPCA is not and has never been, an arm of government - it is a private body run by its members. Its transformation into a political campaigning body instead of an animal welfare charity has nothing to do with government and everything to do with the agenda it is pursuing.

Does that mean a carpentry workshop who lays off staff due to the regulation changes made by the government (hse) has something to do with the government ...

And now the thread is in danger of being locked because the discussion is turning political...

 

[Mouse040]

I agree they are not doing what is on the tin as it were I've had bad experiences with them also but I've also had good and when I looked at the reasons behind the bad ones I understood the actions as I find in most occasions in life the is usually a body pulling a string

 

[BearInTheWoods]

Does that mean a carpentry workshop who lays off staff due to the regulation changes made by the government (hse) has something to do with the government 'no it is just having to change to comply and not always for the better I in no way condone all of its actions but simpifse with the circumstances which have changed there practices and think its very sad as without a body such as them who would you call when in need

Did you actually type that or just throw a handful of Alphabetti Spaghetti at the screen?

 

[Mouse040]

I don't wish to offend I just find people ranting over a subject which is to In depth for most to have an educated response to frustrating its easy to sit back and criticise a body for the mistakes than to commend them for the good maybe use the same search engine used to find the bad and look up something someone did to make a difference for the good and we can have a discussion on that

That's all I got to say about that !

 

[hiraeth]

I have had the misfortune to have had to ask for their help with an injured badger , an inspector eventually returned my call two days later asking how it was. Think the whole organisation is of about as much use as a chocolate fireguard and will only turn up to help if there are TV cameras present.

 

[wingstoo]

RSPCA doesn't it Stand for Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals?

So why call them for an injured animal? is doing so going to prevent cruelty? was the injured animal being treated cruelly? A local vet is surely what is needed for an injured wild animal...

If I saw a pet or in fact a wild animal being cruelly treated and I didn't know what else to do about it the first call would most likely be to the local police, who most likely would call in the RSPCA.

If I saw a wild animal injured on the side of the road I would either deal with it myself, (That is what wheel braces and shovels are for isn't it?) or knock on some doors to find a local vets phone number.

The RSPCA are not vets. Their Employees are not vets, they are inspectors, very much like the local councils Animal Welfare Officers.

I don't think I would call the NSPCC if I saw a child injured on the side of the road... Would you?

 

[BearInTheWoods]

Their Employees are not vets, they are inspectors, very much like the local councils Animal Welfare Officers.

Lacking statutory powers as they do, they are nothing like Animal Welfare Officers, no more than Neighbourhood Watch is like the Police Force.

 

[wingstoo]

Lacking statutory powers as they do, they are nothing like Animal Welfare Officers, no more than Neighbourhood Watch is like the Police Force.

Well that's one small point taken into account, So can an Animal Welfare Officer from the Council arrest someone like a constable can?

Local Neighbourhood watch do have the ability to make a Citizens arrest thought don't they?

What about the rest?

 

[BearInTheWoods]

Well that's one small point taken into account, So can an Animal Welfare Officer from the Council arrest someone like a constable can?

Anyone can arrest anyone.

 

[HHazeldean]

=So can an Animal Welfare Officer from the Council arrest someone like a constable can?

Well technically anyone is able to with citizen arrests and whatnot...

 

[wingstoo]

Anyone can arrest anyone.

So neighbourhood watch is like the police.

 

[fishfish]

I don't think they do any more - they are no longer an animal welfare charity, they are a political campaigning organisation that only deals with cases that suit their agenda.

amen brother!

some info:

"
THIS ARTICLE is written in my joint capacities as Legal Adviser to a number of dog organisations, and Chairman of the Legal Aid Working Party of the British Academy of Experts.
I had been approached by a number of dog people, and by fellow professional members of the Academy, and asked to clear up a number of misconceptions about the RSPCA and the law that appear to be widely held and indeed publicly fostered by the Society itself.

• [SIZE=+1]The RSPCA is a charity. [/SIZE]
• [SIZE=+1]The Inspectorate is[/SIZE] [SIZE=+2]NOT[/SIZE] [SIZE=+1]a public law enforcement body.[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=+1]Society Inspectors have[/SIZE] [SIZE=+2]NO[/SIZE][SIZE=+1] special legal powers whatsoever. [/SIZE]
• [SIZE=+1]They have[/SIZE] [SIZE=+2]NO[/SIZE] [SIZE=+1]special powers to arrest offenders.[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=+1]They have[/SIZE] [SIZE=+2]NO[/SIZE] [SIZE=+1]right to enter your home to inspect your animals or to demand that you answer any of their questions. [/SIZE]
• [SIZE=+1]They have[/SIZE] [SIZE=+2]NO[/SIZE][SIZE=+1] right of access to shows, fairs and markets other than as members of the public, and can only carry out any law enforcement function as an assistant to a police-officer, upon that officer’s request[/SIZE].
• [SIZE=+1]They have[/SIZE] [SIZE=+2]NO[/SIZE] [SIZE=+1]power to stop, obstruct or otherwise detain any vehicle carrying animals.[/SIZE]
• Whilst the Society’s staff issue criminal proceedings against offenders, they do so by way of private prosecution.
• Members of the Inspectorate wear uniforms which make them as much like police officers as the law will allow. They are not. The LOWEST "rank" in the Inspectorate is Inspector (apart from Trainee Inspectors). Above that they have "Chief Inspectors", "Superintendent", ’ and "Chief Superintendents". None of these ranks are officers of the Crown, and have no legal significance whatsoever. They are designed to impress the public.

It is a matter of public record that in this case the RSPCA had illegally entered property, and illegally seized animals The recent RSPCA television series Animal Squad – Undercover which appeared on , Channel 4 featured Chief Superintendent Donald Balfour, Head of the RSPCA Special Operations Unit. He was asked on camera by a police officer if he had any legal powers to do what he was proposing to do. His reply was "Officially no, but we do it all the time.""

 

[wingstoo]

Gas board meter readers have more rights of entry than a great deal of "officials", even higher than the police, who usually need a warrant to enter unless invited. Statutory right of entry is I believe the term they can use, however a warrant is often needed if they need to physically break in.

 

[Ronnie]

My dealings with the SSPCA suggest that things are much better North of the border. The SSPCA does have official powers and as far as I know doesn't have a reputation for abusing them. It's a completely different organisation to the RSPCA.

 

[Pterodaktyl]

Only ever dealt with the RSPCA once. We were on a cabin cruiser on the Thames and came across a sheep which had fallen down the bank and got stuck in the mud at the edge of the river. When I phoned up to report it the call handler asked for a postcode. I told her I didn't have one as we were on a river in the middle of nowhere but I could provide an OS grid ref from our GPS. Her response? "I'm very sorry, but without a valid postcode there's no way I can record your report."

 

[woodstock]

I contacted them a few years back about a story that appeared in the Telegraph about one of their heroic members releasing a grey squirrel back into the wild that had got itself stuck in a bird feeder and was told do you have a problem with that, when I said I did a gave a explanation as to why, they told me to take it to court.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I really don't want to print what I think about the RSPC Facists.

 

[wingstoo]

I contacted them a few years back about a story that appeared in the Telegraph about one of their heroic members releasing a grey squirrel back into the wild that had got itself stuck in a bird feeder and was told do you have a problem with that, when I said I did a gave a explanation as to why, they told me to take it to court.

I remember that one...

I guess it depends if the media are accurate with their reporting, I wonder what image would have been portrayed if they had turned up with a rifle or pistol and shot the creature in front of the people reporting it being stuck...

Probably seen as an inhuman act in front of a child.

Best to say it was being released and then take it away and gas it somewhere else.

Didn't know that the RSPCA was part of the animal rescue from the river brigade, Local fire and rescue service tend to do it around my way rather than the RSPCA.