What is your experience of the RSPCA?

Dazzler21

All this is completely unrelated to anything Charlton, but as has been mentioned I now work alongside the RSPCA.

As part of a recent ad campaign some research was carried out and it turns out the market researchers found views around the RSPCA to be flawed.

Such things as 'They're too wealthy' or 'They're government funded' or 'I heard somebody reported xyz to them and they did nothing' came out.

So I personally would like to know the experiences of others? It is not going to be used by the RSPCA it is purely for me to see the good the bad and the ugly from those I would argue are trustworthy and Doucher too...

Thanks for any responses. Admin you know what to do if this thread is unacceptable for any reason...

ShootersHillGuru

I once phoned them because a roof that I was supposed to repair had pigeons nesting in it. I didn’t want to effect a repair and trap the birds.

RSPCA told me to go ahead a seal them in.

Lost a bit of respect for them that day. Was many years ago by the way.

Carter

My opinion is that they were begun with good intentions and have lots of good and decent people working for them and supporting them. Unfortunately when I tried to adopt a dog from them they were not helpful. Because I said I worked full time they put the pen down and abandoned the form. Didn't ask what full time hours I worked, or if I was a shift worker, or if the dog would come to work with me (yes) so that poor animal will have been put down, which is something else I found out distasteful about the RSPCA, they euthanize more animals in a year than some slaughterhouses. I'm happy to be proven wrong on that one

ForeverAddickted

I'll get my wife to post or send you a pm on my behalf later for you @Dazzler21 if you like

She was telling me how she was stopped in the street the other day by RSPCA reps and despite declining to donate she gave valid reasons for not supporting them... She's a registered veterinary nurse so will have experiences of them, rather than just being against supporting them with no real valid reason

McBobbin

Just for balance I suppose, but I got a rescue cat from one of their centres and found them to be fine (no different from the cats protection league basically).

Henry Irving

When a friend reported something to them they did nothing which is poor from such a wealthy, government funded organisation.

Super_Eddie_Youds

They knocked on my door for donations past 8 on a week night.

We got our cat from battersea in the end, both the RSPCA and Cats protection wouldn't let us because we worked - a dog i understand, a cat? Why not?

Like most of the more recognised charities i imagine they get more focus and therefore more undeserved criticism, though anyone that employs chuggers goes down in my estimation.

Greenie

Its definitely a harder dance than the YMCA.

DRAddick

I can only comment for their service in London, but unfortunately my views are mostly negative. Rarely willing to send someone out to investigate or assist with an animal situation. In a professional capacity they seem to have more employers fund raising than actually available to investigate any requests for their assistance. As Carter says above, no doubt started with good intentions and have good people working for them on the street level, but now the "business" aspect has become more important to those in charge. And them putting healthy animals down is another negative.

randy andy

I'm wary of all large charities now, the larger the charity, then generally speaking, the smaller the percentage of your donation goes to the underlying cause.

The RSPA are a little different in that they perform enforcement duties and by the nature of much of their work it requires a larger organisation to coordinate nationally

Stig

One experience, unfortunately I wasn't particularly impressed. I was out for a walk one weekend and saw a horse on a bit of wasteland with quite a large wound on it's flank; I can't remember all the details now (this was about 2 years ago) but it was clearly in distress. The enclosure looked more like a rubbish tip than a field fit for an animal. Now, I recognise that what I wanted was maybe a little unrealistic. Supervet didn't immediately drop down out of the sky, whisper soothing words to the animal, dress its wounds and lead it away to a giant horsey playfield where it lived the rest of its life frolicking in equine bliss alongside other rescued ponies and unicorns. Nonetheless the response was underwhelming. First we struggled to find their number. Then there was the gargantuan struggle to get someone to answer - nobody did. When we got home I made contact (web form I think, may have been email) eventually somebody phoned back asking loads of questions many of which didn't seem applicable, many of which I didn't know the answer too; I was just a guy out for a walk, how would I know who owned the animal or when it was last fed? Finally I was told that they might send someone on Monday (but doubted it). I was pleased when I next walked past that the horse was no longer there, but have no idea if that's anything to do with the RSPCA or not.

SuedeAdidas

It was probably a Tesco farm.

Baldybonce

SuedeAdidas said:

It was probably a Tesco farm.

Don’t be daft. Asda. Halal horsemeat.

Croydon

Called them recently regarding a stray dog in the road, 'Not their job' was the response.

Ended up calling out the local dog warden - which I didn't even know existed.

T_C_E

When reporting anything to them mention you have a film crew with you to guarantee attendance. 23 German Shepherds killed with bolt guns after owner was found dead (Natural causes) and they decided they couldn't be rehomed. Management teams paid six figure salaries, yet they beg for money in the streets.

SOTF

I've been suspicious of the RSPCA since the former worker said that they were putting healthy animals to sleep to save money. I think the figures were nearly 4000 (10%) of animals they cared for were put to sleep.

soapy_jones

Obsessed with animals...

JoshrewCAFC

T_C_E said:

Management teams paid six figure salaries, yet they beg for money in the streets.

Was waiting for someone to say this...

Why do so many people fail to understand why people in charities can be paid large sums?

Its simple, talented person goes for job A (in a company) and is offered £200,000, he/she is also offered job B (a charity) but is offered £100,000 to do a job with very similar stresses and difficulty. He/she picks job A obviously.

For charities to get talented workers they need to pay competitive salaries, its as simple as that. These charities would be even more inaffective if they paid lower salaries because they wouldn't get the same level of expertise.

Much like in football, to be competitive you need to offer more money to get better players.

Now whether the charity is run well is a whole different question!

T_C_E

JoshrewCAFC said:

T_C_E said:

Management teams paid six figure salaries, yet they beg for money in the streets.

Was waiting for someone to say this...

Why do so many people fail to understand why people in charities can be paid large sums?

Its simple, talented person goes for job A (in a company) and is offered £200,000, he/she is also offered job B (a charity) but is offered £100,000 to do a job with very similar stresses and difficulty. He/she picks job A obviously.

For charities to get talented workers they need to pay competitive salaries, its as simple as that. These charities would be even more inaffective if they paid lower salaries because they wouldn't get the same level of expertise.

Much like in football, to be competitive you need to offer more money to get better players.

Now whether the charity is run well is a whole different question!

Do other companies/football clubs rattle tins in the street or contact people already paying x amount by direct debit asking them to increase that x amount in order to pay those six figure salaries?

Jodaius

T_C_E said:

JoshrewCAFC said:

T_C_E said:

Management teams paid six figure salaries, yet they beg for money in the streets.

Was waiting for someone to say this...

Why do so many people fail to understand why people in charities can be paid large sums?

Its simple, talented person goes for job A (in a company) and is offered £200,000, he/she is also offered job B (a charity) but is offered £100,000 to do a job with very similar stresses and difficulty. He/she picks job A obviously.

For charities to get talented workers they need to pay competitive salaries, its as simple as that. These charities would be even more inaffective if they paid lower salaries because they wouldn't get the same level of expertise.

Much like in football, to be competitive you need to offer more money to get better players.

Now whether the charity is run well is a whole different question!

Do other companies/football clubs rattle tins in the street or contact people already paying x amount by direct debit asking them to increase that x amount in order to pay those six figure salaries?

What's your point?

Because charities are funded through donations their employees should be paid less than they can earn for doing the same job elsewhere?

This is the real world.

Dazzler21

A few stats regarding the RSPCA that I found online:

In 2016, the RSPCA:
Received 1,153,744 calls to their 24-hour cruelty line, one every 27 seconds (up by 3.15 percent)

Investigated 149,604 complaints of alleged animal cruelty. This is more than 400 allegations of animal cruelty every day (up by 4.62 percent)

Issued 84,725 advice and improvement notices (up by 3.99 percent)

Successfully prosecuted 744 people (down by 6.53 percent)

Secured 628 disqualification orders following prosecution (down 4.46 percent)

Had a prosecution success rate of 92.5 percent (up by 0.1 percent)

Rescued and collected 129,602 animals

Branches rehomed more than 35,000 animals

Microchipped, neutered and treated 256,979 animals

The majority of complaints received by them in 2016 continued to be about the welfare of dogs (84,994), followed by cats (36,156) and equines (19,530).

People often think of the RSPCA - in terms of size - as equivalent to the police force.

The RSPCA has just 287 full-time uniformed inspectors - each one covers on average an area of 172 square miles - compared to the police force which has a police officer covering an average area of half a square mile.

The RSPCA make no money from the adoption fees charged because so many of the animals that come into them need need to be rehabilitated before they are ready to be rehomed.

Their 17 animal centres and 5 veterinary hospitals alone cost £110,000 a day to run to care for animals in need.

Each year it costs over £123 million to provide all of the services they offer.

For every £1 given to the RSPCA:
82p is spent on animal welfare
1p is spent on governance
17p is spent raising the next £1

Not sure if this info is meant to help people understand their position or not but there does seem to be a lot of negative stories which is truly sad. From what I've seen so far the hq is full of people desperate to help animals.

Dazzler21

ForeverAddickted said:

I'll get my wife to post or send you a pm on my behalf later for you @Dazzler21 if you like

She was telling me how she was stopped in the street the other day by RSPCA reps and despite declining to donate she gave valid reasons for not supporting them... She's a registered veterinary nurse so will have experiences of them, rather than just being against supporting them with no real valid reason

Would be great to hear/see @ForeverAddickted

ElfsborgAddick

They treated CLB74 alright.

Shrew

They have been under the press spotlight a lot since daring to challenge the hunting fraternity, Seems like they need to train the people on the frontline dealing with public calls a bit better though . I’m sure like most charity sectors they are working hard to fill in all the gaps and demands that austerity brings.

clb74

ElfsborgAddick said:

They treated CLB74 alright.

Theyd of been trying to prosecute me ifi got hold of that cat the budgie had to have counselling.

Arsenetatters

Dazzler21 said:

A few stats regarding the RSPCA that I found online:

In 2016, the RSPCA:
Received 1,153,744 calls to their 24-hour cruelty line, one every 27 seconds (up by 3.15 percent)

Investigated 149,604 complaints of alleged animal cruelty. This is more than 400 allegations of animal cruelty every day (up by 4.62 percent)

Issued 84,725 advice and improvement notices (up by 3.99 percent)

Successfully prosecuted 744 people (down by 6.53 percent)

Secured 628 disqualification orders following prosecution (down 4.46 percent)

Had a prosecution success rate of 92.5 percent (up by 0.1 percent)

Rescued and collected 129,602 animals

Branches rehomed more than 35,000 animals

Microchipped, neutered and treated 256,979 animals

The majority of complaints received by them in 2016 continued to be about the welfare of dogs (84,994), followed by cats (36,156) and equines (19,530).

People often think of the RSPCA - in terms of size - as equivalent to the police force.

The RSPCA has just 287 full-time uniformed inspectors - each one covers on average an area of 172 square miles - compared to the police force which has a police officer covering an average area of half a square mile.

The RSPCA make no money from the adoption fees charged because so many of the animals that come into them need need to be rehabilitated before they are ready to be rehomed.

Their 17 animal centres and 5 veterinary hospitals alone cost £110,000 a day to run to care for animals in need.

Each year it costs over £123 million to provide all of the services they offer.

For every £1 given to the RSPCA:
82p is spent on animal welfare
1p is spent on governance
17p is spent raising the next £1

Not sure if this info is meant to help people understand their position or not but there does seem to be a lot of negative stories which is truly sad. From what I've seen so far the hq is full of people desperate to help animals.

I was really surprised to see they only have 287 full time inspectors.

Stig

JoshrewCAFC said:

T_C_E said:

Management teams paid six figure salaries, yet they beg for money in the streets.

Was waiting for someone to say this...

Why do so many people fail to understand why people in charities can be paid large sums?

Its simple, talented person goes for job A (in a company) and is offered £200,000, he/she is also offered job B (a charity) but is offered £100,000 to do a job with very similar stresses and difficulty. He/she picks job A obviously.

For charities to get talented workers they need to pay competitive salaries, its as simple as that. These charities would be even more inaffective if they paid lower salaries because they wouldn't get the same level of expertise.

Much like in football, to be competitive you need to offer more money to get better players.

Now whether the charity is run well is a whole different question!

If I were going to try and justify high salaries in the charity sector, the last industry I would choose to compare them with would be football.

Blackheathen

I've just had a look at a recent analysis by Third Sector of the highest salaries of 150 largest UK salaries. These included organisations such as Consumers Association, Barnardos, British Red Cross, St Johns Ambulance etc.

There was no mention of the RSPCA in the top 100.

Blackheathen

That should be salaries of charities

Algarveaddick

T_C_E said:

JoshrewCAFC said:

T_C_E said:

Management teams paid six figure salaries, yet they beg for money in the streets.

Was waiting for someone to say this...

Why do so many people fail to understand why people in charities can be paid large sums?

Its simple, talented person goes for job A (in a company) and is offered £200,000, he/she is also offered job B (a charity) but is offered £100,000 to do a job with very similar stresses and difficulty. He/she picks job A obviously.

For charities to get talented workers they need to pay competitive salaries, its as simple as that. These charities would be even more inaffective if they paid lower salaries because they wouldn't get the same level of expertise.

Much like in football, to be competitive you need to offer more money to get better players.

Now whether the charity is run well is a whole different question!

Do other companies/football clubs rattle tins in the street or contact people already paying x amount by direct debit asking them to increase that x amount in order to pay those six figure salaries?

I think that your reaction to the answer is clouded by your love for German Shepherds and a terrible incident, TCE. No, other companies don't rattle tins in the street, because they are organisations set up for profit. Football clubs sometimes do (Ronnie Moore anyone...). RSPCA is a charity; raising funds to do good work that no-one else is going to pay for, is what they do.

I see that some of the same people (not necessarily anyone on CL) who are obsessed by market forces and defend extraordinary salaries with the mantra "You would take it if it was offered to you", suddenly do an about turn when it comes to experts in the charity field earning good money.

Red Fraggle

My parents rehomed a rescued a dog from them. Unfortunately the dog had many problems.

It would snarl at you when you entered the kitchen, not sure why just the kitchen it had free roam of the house & garden, was terrified of large women on the street, anyone with a stick, would hump your leg constantly & eventually turned on my at the time heavily pregnant sister. It then badly bit my sisters OH whilst he tried to get the dog away from her, then went for my Dad. I will be grateful if I don't hear the noises that were coming from the dog ever again in my life. There was a hell of a lot of blood.

When contacted the RSPCA didn't want to know. No help, no guidance, no support. My parents loved that dog & it broke their hearts to put him down but for obvious reasons we didn't feel safe around him.

If I was ever lucky enough to be in the position that I'm at home more during the day I'd go to the Dogs Trust, which I have heard nothing but good experiences. I hadn't lived without a dog until I moved out of my parents house.