Rspca Shelters In Uk To Turn Away Unwanted Pets And Strays

[WreckitWhippet]

I've seen first hand what the RSPCA is capable of , when it comes to breeders and rescuers and let's just say " all creatures great and small " does not extend to fellow humans.

If the breeders of this country and others don't look out for themselves and put the RSPCA back in it place, then there will be no more pedigree dogs.

[fifi]

What is very sad, there are many little country town branches of the rspca who are total legends, they work tirelessly in rescue and often struggle to get support from the parent body.

Chocolatelover, we are only cynical because many of us have seen FIRST HAND the dirty tactics used by those in power in the rspca, some wonderful, ethical breeders & rescuers have been hunted, victimised and nearly destroyed by them.

fifi

[Chocolatelover]

Fine to believe what you believe - everyone has that right. I am not in agreement with everything the RSPCA as an organisation does and says. But to make a mockery of the many decent people that work for the organisation and to imply that they in some way enjoy euthanasing the animals is wrong on so many levels.

Every thread seems to end up with rants about the RSPCA. One person suggests she will warn people off them until they stop putting animals to sleep. I have absolutely no idea how they will stop PTS if no one rescues from there :D

Fifi if you could let me know where I could read the many stories about how wonderful, ethical breeders have been victimised I would appreciate this. Obviously I am missing something here?????????

[WreckitWhippet]

I sat in court while the RSPCA screwed over one of their own and inflicted so much pain, humilation and emotional anguish on two people, that I doubt will ever recover and killed a few of their dogs, while they were at it.

I didn't make that up.

[spottychick]

Fine to believe what you believe - everyone has that right. I am not in agreement with everything the RSPCA as an organisation does and says. But to make a mockery of the many decent people that work for the organisation and to imply that they in some way enjoy euthanasing the animals is wrong on so many levels.

Every thread seems to end up with rants about the RSPCA. One person suggests she will warn people off them until they stop putting animals to sleep. I have absolutely no idea how they will stop PTS if no one rescues from there :D

Fifi if you could let me know where I could read the many stories about how wonderful, ethical breeders have been victimised I would appreciate this. Obviously I am missing something here?????????

No, my point was their high pts rates and their total mismanagement of their funds so that their kill rates remain high. They can absolutely do something about that. Yes there are decent people who work for the RSPCA - that would most often be the ones who are blowing the whistle on them.

[Christina]

In a weird sort of way I can see the logic in this.

RSPCA in the UK is a bit different than here. It is run in a totally different way.

The euthanasia rate although still higher than desirable is no where near as high, per ratio of the population, as it is here in Australia.

They also have more private rescue, lost dogs homes etc.

Maybe by saying they will not be the dumping ground & focus resources on animal cruelty it may make people think twice before they actually get a dog.

Not so easy to say

Oh its not worked out we can just take it to the RSPCA & they can deal with it.

For once there may actually be a method in their madness.

[Chocolatelover]

I sat in court while the RSPCA screwed over one of their own and inflicted so much pain, humilation and emotional anguish on two people, that I doubt will ever recover and killed a few of their dogs, while they were at it.

I didn't make that up.

And every single person who works for the RSPCA was a part of this court case? And the courts sided with the RSPCA but they were wrong too. Doesn't say much for our legal system that they are getting so many judgements wrong.

[WreckitWhippet]

The RSPCA goes in seizes dogs, grinds you into the ground, drains you of money and cripples you emotionally and that's before you even get your first day in court.

I've seen people give up, as they are too tired to fight it any more and they simply want it to be over. It's amazing what you will agree to , when you are being emotionally black mailed and basically have your beloved pets held to ransome.

The day the RSPCA is able to be held accountable for their actions and they get back to the grass roots of caring for animals, I'll think about changing my mind and encouraging others to support them.

When members on here talk about experiences with the RSPCA, they are not restricted to a particular branch or area, the corruption, mismangement and blatant abuse of power extends all over the country.

[Danois]

I sat in court while the RSPCA screwed over one of their own and inflicted so much pain, humilation and emotional anguish on two people, that I doubt will ever recover and killed a few of their dogs, while they were at it.

I didn't make that up.

And every single person who works for the RSPCA was a part of this court case? And the courts sided with the RSPCA but they were wrong too. Doesn't say much for our legal system that they are getting so many judgements wrong.

The Court had no role in making the judgment in this case however they did recognise that the RSPCA were in the wrong to an extent and sentenced accordingly.

[Chocolatelover]

And the courts allow them to do this without any evidence?? I genuinely do not understand how this can happen. As I understand it, the RSPCA cannot convict anyone of anything - they can only take people to court and the rest is left to the legal system.

[centitout]

Disgusting! How can they justify this and happily sit there counting all that money. But it's what I've come to expect from the RSPCA

A lady was chatting with me at a cafe yesterday about my adopted dally Tango. We had a long discussion about the ins and outs of taking on an adult dog with a "history". She said she'd been thinking of buying a puppy but I had made her think that rescuing a dog is a better idea. She said she was going to visit the RSPCA tomorrow and see if they had anything like a Golden Retriever or labrador she could adopt because she likes that kind of breed.

My immediate response was NO don't go there. Check out the Tassie Dogs home or find out if there's a GR or Labrador specific rescue group and go with them. I gave her a run down on the RSPCA and she was shocked and appalled. I think it's a tragedy that the RSPCA has fallen so far that I find myself warning people away from them.

I find it appalling that you would actually warn someone off going to check out the dogs at the RSPCA !! The ones up for adoption have been health checked and temp tested, for goodness sake !! Whatever your feelings about the organisation are, it's irresponsible to bad mouth them to someone who may have given one of the dogs a home. Better to have given her the OPTION of the other rescue groups to consider as well. There are a lot of very dedicated workers in the RSPCA who are working on the coal face as it were and it is a sad and sorry state of affairs when other dog lovers cannot support them in the work they do. Yes there are problems as in any large organisation but badmouthing and running down does nothing to address the issues. I have recently adopted a purebred dog of my favourite breed from the Sydney shelter. He had failed his temp test so could not be adopted out to Jo public. The staff there went to a great deal of trouble to find a home for him as there was no breed rescue in place and with a lot of phoning about they were told I might help out. I have nothing but admiration for what the staff are doing and my experience of dealing with them was totally positive from start to finish. I personally do not agree with some of the policies but publicly bashing them will not change anything .As with most big organisations I am thinking that the way things are done probably differ from shelter to shelter on many points depending on how well managed they are from the ground up. I can actually understand how the UK organisation is thinking, I imagine they are so overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of animals in need that it is necessary at some point to drawer a line in the sand. Cruelty cases must have an advocate and be a priority surely. Before you jump in and flame me about all the other animals being abandoned and needing help etc, I am well aware that it is a huge problem, I have no idea what the answer to it all is but bad mouthing the RSPCA will not help in any way. If you hate the policies so much here in Australia then get involved and start trying to do something from the inside or as an organised group to lobby for change.

I wont support them ever,as long as my arse is pointing to the ground(as my dad used to say) and have certainly told people to go elsewhere-there are other shelters/rescuers that are more deserving.

[centitout]

Chocolate lover,there is plenty of info on the witchhunts the RSPCA has conducted on innocent people/purebred dog breeders,horse riding establishments etc,for ridiculous "breaches" of little known laws by untrained inspectors that dont know one end of a animal from the other.

Or the animals that are used publicly to generate public donations,and then pts AFTERWARDS.Or that ridiculous tv show where you can see the sheer incompetance/lack of training/animal handling skills there so called inspectors have,all the while puppy farms continue with there blessing.

And they are not there for all creatures-they are a business-pure and simple.If it doesnt make money,or there are costs involved,they arent interested.

AND dont get me started on that absolutely ridiculous temp test which sees most animals fail.

There are a few reasons for yo uthat a lot of people loathe them-and i did used to be a supporter up until money became there first priority.

[WreckitWhippet]

RSPCA is the only organisation that can seize evidence, not allow owners an opportunity for a second opinion and then detroy it. They also take all of your records, which includes the things like how often you worm, your receipts for food, vet work etc... the very things that you would present in court to defend yourself.

If you don't like how they operate and you get screwed over by them, it's tough luck, there's no one to complain to.

[~Anne~]

Fine to believe what you believe - everyone has that right. I am not in agreement with everything the RSPCA as an organisation does and says. But to make a mockery of the many decent people that work for the organisation and to imply that they in some way enjoy euthanasing the animals is wrong on so many levels.

Every thread seems to end up with rants about the RSPCA. One person suggests she will warn people off them until they stop putting animals to sleep. I have absolutely no idea how they will stop PTS if no one rescues from there :nahnah:

Fifi if you could let me know where I could read the many stories about how wonderful, ethical breeders have been victimised I would appreciate this. Obviously I am missing something here?????????

The angst felt about the RSPCA you'll note comes primarily from purebred dog breeders. I personally don't think all of it is fair, justified or even factual for that matter and I feel some of it borders on hysteria at best, however it is true that the RSPCA has not been a friend to registered breeders all the time.

Historically, the tail docking debate seems to be when the support of the orgnisation began to wane for breeders as they didn't want to be told they could not dock. On DOL, many have personal feelings, such as those expressed by SBT above, due to the case against another DOLer.

What I think needs to be pointed out is that the opinions expressed on DOL are often very limited in their focus. DOL members are probably only account for less than 0.005 of the Australian dog owning population, and registered breeders are only about 1%, so this should be kept in perspective.

Don't take it to heart Chocolatelover, each to their own. The RSPCA is not about to come tumbling down becuase a minority hate them, although it certainly might help the RSPCA pick their socks up on their failings and become more accountable and it is the accountability issue which I think is the biggest issue.

I feel the organisation has its faults, but it also has its many merits.

[poodlefan]

Would it be too cynical of me to suggest that the RSPCA UK's announcement of turning away unwanted animals is using the prospect of thousands of stray dogs and cats as leverage for more donations and government funding? :nahnah:

Edited April 21, 2010 by poodlefan

[Souff]

Fine to believe what you believe - everyone has that right. I am not in agreement with everything the RSPCA as an organisation does and says. But to make a mockery of the many decent people that work for the organisation and to imply that they in some way enjoy euthanasing the animals is wrong on so many levels.

CL, the report came in from London about the RSPCA, via the media. Last month there was something came in from the media from Tasmania, about the RSPCA. A few weeks ago there was a report came in about somewhere else, about the RSPCA, via the media, and in the near future there will be another adverse report come through the media, about the RSPCA, from somewhere else.

Perhaps you think that this can all be put down to coincidence. But, actually many people can smell a smell. It is not hard.

I don't think anyone is knocking "the many decent people who work there" ..... and no, decent people never like the job of euthanasing animals, but it can hardly be disputed that the majority of animals that go through those doors do not walk out the other door with a brand new owner.

If you have other evidence to show that that is not the case, please post it.

Souff

[Souff]

RSPCA is the only organisation that can seize evidence, not allow owners an opportunity for a second opinion and then detroy it. They also take all of your records, which includes the things like how often you worm, your receipts for food, vet work etc... the very things that you would present in court to defend yourself.

If you don't like how they operate and you get screwed over by them, it's tough luck, there's no one to complain to.

This is one of the things that most decent people just do not believe happens.

Many people think that handing over their records will actually help them, not work against them.

Souff

[sandgrubber]

Get real people. The big, international non-governmental organisations are both effective, and big on fund-raising. Smaller localised charities often get more bang for the buck but don't reach as far. Compare WWF or Greenpeace to a local organisation with a mission to conserve some species or habitat or protect water quality. You'll find that the international version spends much more on glossy flyers and paying people to talk to people in shopping malls, while the local org relies on committed volunteers and gets more bang for its buck... but has more trouble sustaining the bang and doesn't make it go as far.

It's easy to bag the RSPCA. Personally, I don't like the R part. But we need organisations to protect animals from cruelty. The RSPCA is part of the fabric of a web of organisations that protect animals. Dogs are not the single focus of the RSPCA. Personally, I think their efforts to eliminate factory farming, particularly of pigs, are more important than anything they do with dogs and some of their dog stuff is misguided from my perspective. On thewhole, I think the RSPCA does more good than harm, and I'm happy to donate stuff to them for their thrift stores and support them in passive ways. Not my 'charity of choice'. I won't put them in my will. But I can't see the point of trying to kick them where it hurts . . . especially on DOL, a podium that means few people other than the pedigree dog choir is listening.

[Steve]

Lets just forget for a moment about anything we know or anything that is said about how animals have been seized and how owners have been treated.

Since day one not only in England but also in Australia the RSPCA came about because laws were introduced to protect animals from cruelty and the police department weren't interested in

policing them. There was an understanding that if this were left to the police department that animals would still suffer and that the laws being bought in would be nothing more than scoff laws with animals still left suffering the same fate. Yes definitely over the last 150 odd years their powers have been increased as laws have been introduced and rather than just going in and taking animals which have been cruelly treated they can prosecute and have those who break Prevention of cruelty to animals act laws punished.

New laws and codes of practice were bought into NSW around mid year last year. The guidelines for breeding dogs cover all manner of things including things like each puppy should have it's own bowl.

How much time they should get exercising,how often they should be groomed etc. All of these things can be bought into play in a court case. Surely none of us really expect that we would see the police department getting too much joy out of having to do this role. Laws and Codes regarding animal welfare can be used in courts as evidence in cases relating to animal welfare. Can you imagine the police wanting to go in and rumble a 70 year old lady who has broken the law because she took her debarked dog to a dog show? So we are still back where they started the police wont do it and that will make any laws which they have pushed for ineffective so they enforce them.

RSPCA act as police but they are not police and have no statutory powers or police training. Animal welfare cases are filed via the charity not via the state as is the case in all other areas of law enforcement.They bring in and pay for their independent experts via their own private solicitors. Their accountability is supposedly via the courts.If you have a dog that has almost anything wrong with it on any given day - such as worms - if they want to push the ticket they can take your dog away and charge you with not seeking vet advice.The court might hear that these charges are unfounded or that you have a good excuse but by then your animals have gone and you have suffered extreme stress. The expert witness is employed by the RSPCA and the attending vet could easily say a dog has worms so bad the dog had to be PTS when it doesn't have a single worm. The evidence is destroyed,there is no opportunity for a second opinion with an expert witness who you choose and your word against the machine and if you have a complaint there is no where to go as it a pending case with the assumption the courts will sort it out.

So back to the topic from day one the RSPCA have always had as their first and foremost aim to be the animal police in order to stop to stop animals suffering - in the beginning dead was better than having to fend for themselves out of garbage bins. Saving them and finding them new homes or spending enormous amounts of money on animals needing to live through months of suffering to continue to live in the hope they will be suitable for re -homing at the end of it all to gain publicity and funding is a recent development.

Beat up governments for allowing them to talk them into introducing stupid laws and allowing them to operate without accountability with such high risk of corruption to enforce them but people should know that when they donate money to the RSPCA it is donating in the main to a quasi police force.

They do some great work and help prevent animals suffering but they are now and always have been about punishing people for breaking animal welfare law.

The fact remains if they don't do it who will.Some people do terrible things to animals and they deserve to be punished at law.

[Souff]

Get real people. The big, international non-governmental organisations are both effective, and big on fund-raising. Smaller localised charities often get more bang for the buck but don't reach as far. Compare WWF or Greenpeace to a local organisation with a mission to conserve some species or habitat or protect water quality. You'll find that the international version spends much more on glossy flyers and paying people to talk to people in shopping malls, while the local org relies on committed volunteers and gets more bang for its buck... but has more trouble sustaining the bang and doesn't make it go as far.

It's easy to bag the RSPCA. Personally, I don't like the R part. But we need organisations to protect animals from cruelty. The RSPCA is part of the fabric of a web of organisations that protect animals. Dogs are not the single focus of the RSPCA. Personally, I think their efforts to eliminate factory farming, particularly of pigs, are more important than anything they do with dogs and some of their dog stuff is misguided from my perspective. On thewhole, I think the RSPCA does more good than harm, and I'm happy to donate stuff to them for their thrift stores and support them in passive ways. Not my 'charity of choice'. I won't put them in my will. But I can't see the point of trying to kick them where it hurts . . . especially on DOL, a podium that means few people other than the pedigree dog choir is listening.

Very real here.

The basic responsibility of the RSPCA is to prevent cruelty.

Turning away abandoned/unwanted animals will only encourage the dumping of animals and that is straight-out cruelty.

Souff is always happy to help those who help animals and is a former RSPCA supporter, but I stopped buying RSPCA merchandise and making donations many moons ago. That situation will not change until I can see that their management policies are solely for the prevention of cruelty, and are not just aimed at going after the easy targets to make a noise in the media and and bring in the bucks, and do not smack of the maniac animal rights loonies agendas.

Commonsense appears to be lacking.

Souff