Hi,
I'm a passionate animal lover, veterinary nurse and foster carer. The whole Brandy thing is heartbreaking but I've asked Michael Beatty about this case and this is his reply below. If everyone could please just read it. Thank you.
There is a lot more to this than is at first apparent. For a start, we believe that a number of people who have posted comments are currently being prosecuted by the RSPCA or are friends of theirs. If you live in Townsville you will probably be aware of their identities.
In regard to Brandy, let me assure you that the Foster carer (Siobhan) was made aware of Brandy’s situation by our Inspector who had rescued her. Before any animal is adopted they have to undergo further veterinary checks before they go to their new home and there was no doubt Brandy needed to be checked as she was still suffering from the occasional bout of colic. This could have been handled better from a customer service point of view but everything was done with the horse’s welfare in mind. Our Shelter operations manager kept in contact with Siobhan (Brandy’s foster carer) on Saturday when Brandy came down with a really bad case of colic. He told her that Brandy might have to be put down and Siobhan said she would abide by whatever decision the vets decided to make. The next day was his daughter’s christening and he didn’t find out that Brandy had been put down until after that when he rang her.
No matter what you read in the Townsville Bulletin or in this forum, I can assure you the RSPCA takes the care of animals and the carrying out of its responsibilities very seriously indeed. The decision to put down Brandy was made after consultation with local Equine Vets, our Senior Vet and an Equine Expert from James Cook University. Our CEO owns up and takes responsibility for making the very difficult decision to euthanize the horse on humane grounds about 11.00pm on Saturday night after receiving advice from the equine experts. We knew that we would cop flack from the media and the general public. However this shouldn’t be the reason to allow the horse to continue to suffer. If the Townsville Bulletin had its way the horse would be wallowing around suffering while continuing to make good headlines for them. I’m sorry but we take our role much more seriously than that.
Michael Beatty
Media And Community Relations
RSPCA Queensland
