Should I be giving money to the RSPCA?

[yum]

After we took in an abandoned cat we found I decided to give some money to the rspca and cats protection each month because I was so appalled by the way tabatha the cat was treated. However, I just recieved the RSPCA magazine and I don't agree with everyhing they say/ possibly stand for. I wanted to give them money as I believe they help alot of stray animals, but their bigger companies/ the bigger picture of what they do bothers me. Ie the support of rare species over the slaughter of red squirrels they said is a difficult one and they're free range eggs I've heard are made to be not so free rand and humane. Now I feel troubles about giving them money.

Does anyone have an opinion on this also?

P.s please excuse spelling mistakes as my keyboard has been playing up.

X

[Sarabi]

NOOOOO! Do not give money to RSPCA. Evil welfarists!

[brucie-g]

Ditto. Give the money to a local animal shelter instead.

[cobweb]

i give to the SSPCA because they have responded to a couple of calls i have made re cruelty cases so i feel it would be hypocritical for me not to. They aren't perfect (though in my experience are better by far than the RSPCA who get a lot more funding) but i'm really glad that both organisations exist.

[Daffodil]

Well twice I've every called on their services: once to report a mistreated cockateil in someone's house, and once to report a bird laying dying in the street and they didn't respond to either call. said they were too busy!

[brucie-g]

Although I agree that we are better off with them than without them, I too have attempted to call them twice now and both times they were deeply uninterested.

[DavidT]

Why not try to find a local animal hospice or similar if you want to help animals? There are donkey sanctuaries and the like. Ask around and there's always someone somewhere taking in animals. They say charity begins at home, so it might be a good idea to find a local charity before you need them!

Speaking of which, if you're feeling generous, there's always HIPPO. (http://www.hippocharity.org.uk/)
;)

[ellaminnowpea]

I actually do not give money to these organizations, but have considered volunteering at the shelters.

I remember finding two very ill dogs on my doorstep one day. I was on my way to work, but I didnt want them to run into the road and get hit/ starve to death/ etc. They were really well trained, pure-bred, and well groomed prior to their homelessness, so I called the kill-free shelter and they were full (of course). I called the local pet store to ask for some numbers for kill-free shelters. Apparently, the RSPCA in this town doesnt kill "unless necessary". They came to take a look at the dogs to see if they would stay alive. They assured me that they had tags and were in general good health prior to abandonment, so they wouldn't be killed. I ended up giving them the dogs and going to work a couple hours late. But I still wonder about those two dogs. :( They'd obviously been abandoned by their humans for some stupid reason and I felt I had no choice. I still wish I could have adopted them.

[cobweb]

I didn't know you had the RSPCA over there, ella?

It does seem to depend on your local officer, i have the mobile number for ours so i go straight to him rather than the hotline, and he has helped out twice with things very efficiently. I think they are getting better (one RSPCA shelter on Merseyside used to electrocute the dogs to death!!) but they have so far to go before they are truly representing the real needs of animals. They do have the law a bit more on their side than some other animal aid organisations though so i am happy to have them around.

[beanstew]

I called the RSPCA once to report on a petshop in a busy market that had Chinchillas in a cage with nowhere to hide and were obviously stressed. When I went back to checkup on them they had much better cages with boxes to shelter in.

[cobweb]

I called the RSPCA once to report on a petshop in a busy market that had Chinchillas in a cage with nowhere to hide and were obviously stressed. When I went back to checkup on them they had much better cages with boxes to shelter in.

:) good news :thumbsup:

[BlackCats]

I don't generally give to the RSPCA as they are well known and well funded already and also I don't agree with some of their policies eg: "Freedom Foods" and I would normally give to Viva or Animal Aid if I was going to donate money to an animal organisation.

However I will be giving a donation to the RSPCA next week (when we have some money!) as an officer came and picked up a injured wild bird from my house today. They were helpful on the phone when I called them and came to pick the bird up relatively quickly so I think they do a good job on the rescue side of things.:smile:

[DavidT]

Veering a little off-topic, I found out some years ago that the RNLI (the lifeboats people) invested in arms companies GKN, Cobham and Rolls Royce. I wrote to the RNLI and protested and of course they sent back a silky, mildly pompous letter justifying their investments.

The RNLI does "not apply any 'ethical' constraints to the selection of investments"

I've raised several thousands over the years for them. So, I wrote back to say they'd get no more help from me and I would spread this shameful, negative story amongst people I knew.

It's hard to see how you can justify getting investment returns from armaments companies to spend on saving lives. It don't work! RNLI sidestepped the contradiction, citing some court ruling which vindicated their actions.

It's a bit like the British Beekeepers' Association (http://www.cheshire-bka.co.uk/News/TheBBKAandPesticides.php) receiving sponsorship from Bayer, the manufacturers of the neo-nicotinoid pesticides which are...killing bees. Grrrr.

[harpy]

I don't generally give to the RSPCA as they are well known and well funded already and also I don't agree with some of their policies eg: "Freedom Foods" and I would normally give to Viva or Animal Aid if I was going to donate money to an animal organisation.

However I will be giving a donation to the RSPCA next week (when we have some money!) as an officer came and picked up a injured wild bird from my house today. They were helpful on the phone when I called them and came to pick the bird up relatively quickly so I think they do a good job on the rescue side of things.:smile:

I feel the same, I give them a few quid when I see someone collecting etc because they do some good work, for example in running clinics for people that can't afford vets (they have a hospital near here so they often are collecting). In general though they aren't my favourite organisation and as you say they are relatively well-funded already, though doubtless they could do with more.

[shockingfish]

I have to aggree with BlackCats I would rather give money to Viva!, VVF or Animal Aid. The RSPCA has a lot of cash - I mean a LOT - over £200million in the bank and an annual income over £100 million. However the local RSPCA shelters are seperate charities to the main RSPCA and are always in need of cash (tells you something about the RSPCA that they have so much money in the bank and yet their shelters are so underfunded?) If you want have a look at the RSPCA's last charity commisions report - http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ShowCharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=2190 99&SubsidiaryNumber=0

Oh and don't even get me started on Freedom Food!