A MEMO leaked to the press has suggested that from May 4, the RSPCA will only accept ‘RSPCA generated’ animals into is regional rescue centres, potentially leaving as many as 75,000 unwanted animals a year without the prospect of finding a home.
The move comes after the RSPCA recently admitted that the number of abandoned pets is soaring as a result of the recession.
The documents, which were show that from from May, only animals seized by inspectors in cruelty cases - or those which are at immediate risk or cruelty - will be guaranteed a place in an RSPCA shelter, in a move which has attracted critisism from many vets and animal lovers, who have called the decision a dereliction of duty.
Pets belonging to people who are taken into hospital, evicted from their homes or are simply unwanted or found as strays will from that date normally be turned away. Visitors holding the animal will be told to contact the police, the local council or a vet for further advice.
The Society tried the scheme out in January this year, which it deemed to have been successful enough to roll out countrywide. in a statement on its website it said: ‘The highest priority for the RSPCA is to look after the animals that most need help – the pets and other animals rescued by our inspectors from cruelty and neglect.
‘The RSPCA Ashley Heath Animal Centre, near Ringwood in Hampshire, is one of the centres that has been operating the new policy. Centre manager, Sheila Vernon, said: The public have been very supportive of this because people know the RSPCA must make space for animals in imminent danger, or pets that may have been abused. They're happy to accept that those animals have a greater need and they understand why they need to look elsewhere to rehome their own pets.’
Warning
However, Harvey Locke, president-elect of the British Veterinary Association warned that if the RSPCA begins turning away animals which are merely unwanted, it could result in even more pets being abandoned.
‘I think the concern is that more unwanted pets may be left to fend for themselves, that people will just leave them on the streets or turf them out of their cars on the motorway. I would like to think that that would not happen but that is a risk,’ he told Channel 4 News earlier this week.
The RSPCA defended the decision to phase out the service, saying it had to make the changes owing to financial pressures. ‘Like any organisation at the moment we have to answer some difficult economic challenges. The RSPCA has always prioritised which animals it takes in. We are looking to formalise that... to make sure that our finite resources go to the animals that need them most,’ said Tim Wass, head of inspectorate.
Sue Walters, manager of the RSPCA Millbrook Animal Centre in Chobham, Surrey, said: ‘Our centre is licensed to care for 70 dogs, and at the moment 60 of the dogs in our care have come from inspectors as part of two large prosecution cases. It was vital that these dogs were removed from unsuitable and unhealthy environments so they could be properly cared for.
‘If our centre was full of other animals, these dogs would have been put in private boarding. It would not be fair to expect private establishments to deal with nervous and unsocialised animals who desperately need the specialist veterinary and behaviour support that the RSPCA is best equipped to provide.’
Prosecutions
In a statement on its website, the RSPCA pointed out that it had been consulting with other animal charities about the plan, but as the only animal welfare charity that takes prosecutions, felt it was unique in the need to provide space for the victims of cruelty cases.
It said: ‘This initiative will ensure that there is enough room in RSPCA animal centres for the victims of cruelty whose owners are being prosecuted. The RSPCA takes approximately 2,000 prosecution cases a year with a 97 per cent success rate in court. All these animals need somewhere to be cared for in the weeks and months leading up to the court case, and afterwards most will then be looking for new homes.’
The RSPCA is Britain’s eighth largest charity, with an income of £119 million in 2008. The move comes as the organisation is making savings of £54 million over three years, with donations falling due to the recession.
The charity investigated 140,575 cases in 2008, up from 110,841 three years earlier. It spent £11.1 million on prosecutions in 2008, compared with £7 million in 2007.
The rise is in part the result of the Animal Welfare Act, which came into effect in 2007 and which was strongly supported by the RSPCA, which introduced new offences of failures in animal welfare, rather than just cruelty.
The Society said that it will still be happy to advise people who cannot deal with their animal, and that its National Control Centre can point people in the direction of animal welfare organisations that may be able to help.
Effect on dogs?
Feelings amongst dog owners in the UK was running high following the news, with worries that additional pressure would fall upon breed rescues and smaller, not-for-profit shelters who would possibly be the next port of call for dog owners looking to rehome dogs.
John Jackson, who has owned and bred Labradors for many years, told OUR DOGS: ‘Nothing that the RSPCA does these days surprises me. They say they have to be financially prudent, but then you read stories of potentially massive legal bills being run up for challenging wills through the courts. There have also been cases where rescue organisations have offered to take dogs from them but have been refused.
‘It really does beg questions of the management of this organisation. I’m sure there will be more dogs dumped as a result of this decision and rescues will have more dogs to deal with. Therefore we’ll all have to ensure our donations go to where they are really needed in the future.’
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