The RSPCA vs

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I do have to say that the Hamster had to be signed over to us via the rspca paperwork which the lady was happy enough to do,i assured her that her name doesn't go on any databases and the paperwork here will be eventually shredded,its not strictly something that the 'rspca' do however with being a volunteer for quite some time now,several years,they basically dont mind what i do,or dont & as she only lived a few streets away i saw no problem with it.Our vets are very understanding and there was no fee involved.
 
I am going to post on this thread my thoughts on this, because I did write a very strong post on the thread which I believe you are referring to.

Allan, If I upset you or any of the other RSPCA volunteers on this forum in anyway then I apologise. I have nothing but praise for you guys on here..

But...

My personal experiences of the RSPCA have been awful if I'm honest. There have been a number of occasions where I have contacted them regarding cases of animal neglect and cruelty, and nothing has been done....I have seen horses in a field with damaged knees, malnourished and overgrown hooves which I reported, those horses were still in that field in the same condition 3 months later. When I spoke to them, they said they had received a couple of calls about these horses in particular, so why were they still there 3 months later :(

I reported a neighbour in an area I used to live in, for cruelty to his dog. When I called the RSPCA a month or so later, they hadnt even been out to investigate. A short time after that, I saw the dog being kicked by its owner for walking too fast :(

This is why I posted my "rant" on the other thread....To me, rightly or wrongly, it was just another failure of the organisation it wasnt a personal attack against you or any of the other volunteers on here.

Glad to see that you have decided to stay.
 
I am taking a break from the Forum but came on to find a number and found this thread.
Alan - I apologise if I have offended you in anyway; you were involved in the last rescue as I bought some guinea pigs to you. That rescue broke my rescuse bank, caused a lot of upset and pain for me and the lady involved. At the time I had health problems and could not travel far from home but risked it to help these pigs.
I was upset with how the RSPCA dealt with the situation, promising to help this lady but obvioulsy they did not and we are in the same situation again.
The branches off the RSPCA are fantastic (as I said in my thread); I have volunteered a lot for my local one, they took in rabbits that were on death row and did everything possible to help everyone.
So yes I have issues with certain areas of the RSPCA which I hope you can understand.
I meant no offence to anyone.
 
Ahh this is so sad that it has come to this! We must'nt all row when we all want one thing.

Alan, I also posted about the RSPCA, unfortunately I have also had some bad dealings with them, my post was simply from sad experience. I am sorry you and others were offended it was not meant that way and in hindsight I should have thought about you guys and the good work you do. I am glad you have decided to stay. People like you, Sue and many others are wonderful and would do the same no matter where you are or what organisation you represent and I applaud you all.

However, I do think that some of the comments cannot be ignored, the RSPCA really must look at themselves. I notice more and more now people (in general not just on this forum) who have had issues and I hear more and more comments from people and unless the RSPCA address these concerns then its not good for anyone, donations will decrease and our beloved animals whom we all care deeply for, will suffer.

We all need to take a deep breath, make sure we praise ALL the wonderful people who do do fantastic work but we must not 'be part of' the problem We must make sure that if there are issues then they are reported quickly to them and maybe then things will improve. I guess if they don't know there's an issue then maybe they cannot fix it?

Surmon over, can we all just get on now x)
 
threelittlepigs said:
If everyone who had an opinion spent an hour helping their local branch then the RSPCA would have far more capacity to help animals.
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I agree, in a sense. However i was told by my local RSPCA that i could not volunteer unless i agreed to give out the advice that
a) neutering males will make them get along
b) males do not become fertile untill 6 weeks of age
c) males should idealy be kept alone.

I was not willing to give out wrong advice, and sadly i have no other rescues close enough to volunteer for.

I think the people we are lucky enough to have on the forum that are part of the RSPCA obviously are very knowledgable and caring, but as when donating, i cannot guarantee that my money *** be used on their wonderfull rescues rather than my own local one, i choose to donate to other causes.

I am very sorry if this offends, it is in no way a reflection of my views on allan or Vic, however it is my opinion and it will not change.
 
Connie said:
I agree, in a sense. However i was told by my local RSPCA that i could not volunteer unless i agreed to give out the advice that
a) neutering males will make them get along
b) males do not become fertile untill 6 weeks of age
c) males should idealy be kept alone.

I was not willing to give out wrong advice, and sadly i have no other rescues close enough to volunteer for.

I think the people we are lucky enough to have on the forum that are part of the RSPCA obviously are very knowledgable and caring, but as when donating, i cannot guarantee that my money *** be used on their wonderfull rescues rather than my own local one, i choose to donate to other causes.

I am very sorry if this offends, it is in no way a reflection of my views on allan or Vic, however it is my opinion and it will not change.
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That's a fair post, Connie. I also cannot help my local branch as they do not take in rabbits and guinea pigs (only dogs and cats). What I really meant was that people need to think about being part of the solution. Glad to hear that the people who commented have backed up their posts. I think that the RSPCA is a little like the police in as much as it may seem that they are ignoring complaints, but the reality is that they can only go on the evidence they find and they only have the resources to cope with the most serious things.
 
In the world that we live in nothing is ever going to be perfect,I know there are issues with the rspca,there are issues with the Blue Cross,the Cat Protection League,the International League for the Protection of Horses and on and on.I have issues with the rspca and i rehome animals on their behalf. Eventually we may live in an ideal world where there is no animal cruelty but given that we are the dominant species on this planet then i think its unlikely.With the likes of the internet,iphones and the likes it is extremely easy to contact an organisation and report animal cruelty however for the ground forces things remain exactly the same,they have to jump in car,go foot slogging around,do reams of paperwork.
With the increased usage of mobile phones,with cameras fitted it is also quite easy to get pictures of animals in distress,provided you can get near enough,provided you are not breaking any law's irrespective of the animals condition and when you have those pictures call an animal welfare society,tell them what you have seen,tell them you have the pictures and if after a period of time you are not satisfied that your report of animal neglect has been acted on consider taking more robust approach,and if that doesn't work go to the media,contact your local newspaper,when we took some dumped animals in last year ours was more than happy to run an article about their story.
Connie,i see where you are coming from with your last post,my branch dont argue with any decisions we make,neutering a guinea doesn't make them get on better,it makes very little difference other than stopping the animal from reproducing.I have been spoken to about it a number of times and as i point out,we get a ratio of 2-1 males-females.We are rapidly approaching our 300th male guinea pig,300 x £45 to neuter a male = £13,500,we simply dont have the finances in our branch to support that amount of neuterings,yes the reception centres neuter but they usually have their own on site vet.
we all know males can become fertile much sooner than 6 weeks and we remove male babies at 15-21 days.
As for males being kept alone,we prefer that fighting males are rehomed to be with other pigs but not in direct contact,the reason we get so many males in is simply because they are brainless idiots,lovely brainless idiots,but if they fight then its game over,we also see the outcome of fighting males,too often sadly.

yes we should move along now but our nature doesn't allow it.

al
rspca west suffolk branch.
 
I agree with the above and connie, I too cannot help my local branch, or at least in the way I'd like as they wanted people in the week whereas I work full time and it's just cats and dogs. I agree the RSPCA overall does a fab job and I have the utmost respect for its officers and volunteers as what they go through can be utterly demoralising.

I think the operation discussed was a failure by the organisation and not a reflection in the people we know here who work very hard to help animals. Something me and OH discussed recently was giving to charity and how much ends up where you'd like it. For example, the millions we raise for red nose day, apparently only a small percentage goes to people in need as the rest goes on 'admin'. how many charities have their big posh offices in London? The most expensive place in the uk? I don't even know if the RSPCA has a head office in London but you see my point. Anyway I'm digressing! I think this kind of thing is why a lot of us support local rescues instead of big organisations. People want see where their money goes. However if I can ever help my local RSPCA then I will as I know the support is difficult and lack of support means local branches are under threat of closure.
I think it's brilliant and really important that the forum has members like vic and Allan as they have invaluable advice and knowledge and can also give us the flip side of what goes on. As Allan said, half of us won't have a clue what they go through but through their experiences they can share the success stories which I think restore faith. All too quickly people focus on the failures. But you have to have hope, without that, there's not a lot left.
 
Allan, I'm really glad you have decided to stick around.

Whatever people's opinions of the RSPCA as an organisation (which will be inherently flawed as all organisations run by human beings will be...) it fulfills a vital role in the UK, a supposed nation of animal lovers.

If there were not individuals like you and Vic around then the world would be a much darker place. Having helped out my local branch where possible and now as a member of the Piggy Bank I am proud to be making a difference in whatever small way I can. It is the example of dedicated peopl like yourself that encourage people like me to step forward and do their bit, no matter how small.

I have been reported to the RSPCA in the past by a obnoxious landlord trying to get rid of me and was pleasantly surprised to see they took his complaint, however maliciously intended, seriously and also let me respond to that in a mature way.

Yes, there are faults in the system but really there are faults in any system be it government, football clubs, the NHS, this forum etc. But lets's face it would we really want to return to a world without free, non judgemental healthcare, no leadership and no voice for the animals of our nation just because the system didn't work sometimes?

I think not.

Yes, we all need a rant sometimes but we need to remember that there are people at other end of everything who are working just as hard and care just as much.

Remember it's all for the animals not our egos or our selves
 
Thankyou for your response allan, I really dont want you to take offence as you obviously know what your doing (and give out the right advice! :) ) But i hope you can see why i am not willing to support my local one, as frankly, i spend half my life these days telling local people they are wrong, and desperatly trying to get them to believe me over a massive national well respected organisation. *sigh* (another example is now they neglect to mention the need for veg. I was chatting to the nurse at my local vet and she was saying how every guinea pig she sees seems to come in with scurvy lately) I am well aware this bad advice is not RSPCA policy, and is just down to this one branch. I Do wish there was more of a level of consistancy, as often the advice given round here goes against the general advice posted on their website.

I truely wish we could have a branch and rescue like you near us.
 
Move to Suffolk,we're not all that bad really.

The realisation that what is spoken isn't often what should be said is begining to get through but it takes time,everything takes time.
 
I do plan to move to norfolk in a few years time, but uni and work are tieing me here for now, unfortunatly. :/
 
"Remember it's all for the animals not our egos or our selves"

I dont think anyone on here does anything for our egos or ourselves, and I dont understand that statement in relation to this discussion ?/
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
"Remember it's all for the animals not our egos or our selves"

I dont think anyone on here does anything for our egos or ourselves, and I dont understand that statement in relation to this discussion ?/
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I only meant that many times on this forum we end up debating issues which we get irate about or passionate about but in the twists and turns of the threads we can often forget what we all agree on.... That the animals are most important.

I hope that makes more sense.
 
I definatly will, as when i move i may have room for more piggies! :)
 
I'm glad you are staying; although I don't post regularly I do watch and have always valued your input. Keep up the good work.
 
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