[doganjo]

http://www.countryside-alliance.org/ca/campaigns-hunting/rspca-private-prosecution-of-avon-vale-thrown-out-of-court

[john and helen]

i use to respect the RSPCA, but like many of these organisation, they overstep the mark,
many town folk want the good life ..but don't always like the countryside rules...
the church bell ringing, the cows who make a noise at stupid o'clock..and as for that darn cockerel.

lets not even mention the smell of sh**...

there is no need to make an animal suffer... but some animals need to be controlled...

[SteveHants]

I'm no fan of the hunt, but the RSPCA seem to be taking ever more worrying steps. About time they lost their royal charter?

[bigchicken]

Tally ho
come on the hunt,    RSPCA    Risk Subscribers Pennies Carelessly Anyway.

[colliewobbles]

I don't like the hunt as I feel that unnecessary suffering is caused in the name of sport.  However, I also understand that some controls are needed and believe that a good gamekeeper can do a much better job anyway - the one near us certainly can!! 

I don't understand the RSPCA - they seem to pursue things like this that end up as a farce but totally ignore clearly illegal puppy farms for instance.  There is one near me and it is common knowledge around here but nothing gets done and animals continue to suffer - what is the point of the RSPCA if they allow things like this to continue?

Donna

[tizaala]

Not 1p of my cash will ever go to that corrupt bunch of bastards, time they were brought to heel. not a clue about animal welfare but they do know about taking the money off over emotional old ladies 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Excellent news. Fully support their animal welfare work, but not the political stuff. They took their eye off the ball a long time ago. They could better invest the money on some basic horse knowledge and handling training for their staff from my experience of them, plus some more staff to answer calls and feedback to people reporting real and terrible situations of abuse and cruelty.....

[plumseverywhere]

So from reading the story...the hunt was trying to rescue a dog that had got trapped in a badger sett? Would it not have been crueler to have not attempted to rescue it? have I totally misunderstood the story?!
Blardy RSPCA, we've had awful issues with them in the past and actually had to make a formal complaint after their negligence contributed to the suffering of an animal, full apology etc but not the point. Less time on the politics, more time on what the public erroneously believe their money is going towards!!

[JMB]

Not excellent news that they lost all that money.
I support the SSPCA (as it is up here) and I loathe hunting.
I'd like to think that they weren't just stupid to pursue this, may they got bad legal advice.
Or maybe the guys were guilty as charged but got away with it.
Maybe the RSPCA are fighting a losing battle against badger baiting and hunting and wanted to set an example.
Any which ways, it's alot of money for a charity to lose.
Unfortunately there are some horrible people out there and we need charities like that.
J xxxxx

[ellied]

Since charities took on emotional blackmail based TV and other media advertising campaigns as a priority activity over the actual training and support of staff and, to be honest, animal care, I think they should be banned themselves as a blatantly corrupt and totally amoral money making business pretending to be charitable in the same way Coca Cola does or any other organisation that has to pay taxes for what it brings in from marketing revenue.

I stopped supporting them at the first "skinny puppy" ad, I refuse to donate a single penny to be used to create "suffering animal" films to persuade viewers to buy the myth that their £3 a month will not be used for yet more marketing and promotional activities.  Or that it won't be used to pay the salaries of sales teams phoning them back to ask for "just another £1 a month" until they meet their quota just like any telemarketing staff.  Don't be fooled these folk do not cuddle bunnies for a living, they get photos of suffering animals to pay their wages and I'm pretty sure the animals aren't actors paid a wage to roleplay so what's the difference between posing them and waiting for that perfect sad eyed suffering picture to be in the can before vets get to treat them and cruelty?  Or between what they're doing and what the tabloid media do at incidents where people are hurt and dying and they use the misery to make money for themselves and their employers?  Bl**dy vultures feeding off the dead and dying and without the guts to admit they're a corporation and pay taxes.

Sorry, one of the very few things that makes me rage. 

[SteveHants]

There is even a help group for farmers - as we are one of the RSPCAs  'targets' - here: http://the-shg.org/selfhelp.htm

[Roxy]

I used to donate to the RSPCA in their collection doggie and on their street collections.  Never again, after the times I see their donations "wasted" in my view.  And I am quite happy to tell their collectors why.I  know I am not the only one.
 
In the olden days,they sent out one Inspector to have a chat to the animal owner -leave advice if necessary and that was it. Now, they arrive at your farm, three vans carrying one inspector in each, and a Police car and a vet .......issue a caution like you are on a Police charge.  Frighten the life out of you, and then disappear when the vet says the walker going across your field was wrong, and your livestock are fine.  How much of  the donated money is that one visit costing??
 
But when someone rings up about a neglected horse, they ask if its stood up, and has access to grass and  water, and if so,they say they cannot do anything.
 
 

[Lesley Silvester]

I knew a retired lady who did a lot of collecting for charities but who stopped collecting for the RSPCA because it upset her to see people put notes in the box for the poor animals, when they would only put pence in for people. I too hate the emotional blackmail of photos of neglected animals or children to try to get money out of you.

 their £3 a month will not be used for yet more marketing and promotional activities.  Or that it won't be used to pay the salaries of sales teams phoning them back to ask for "just another £1 a month" until they meet their quota just like any telemarketing staff. 

Only an extra £ a month? The one I signed up for (a children's charity) asked for £2 a month. Within two months, I had a letter asking me to increase it to £4 a month which I did. Shortly after that, they wanted me to double it again, saying that £8 a month would enable them to do so much more. I ignored this letter but had several more saying the same thing. I decided that as they had enough money to mail me, and others, so often, they didn't need my money that much and cancelled the direct debit. I now don't donate to anything that sends me a letter as I know they'll waste money sending more letters every few weeks. There are other ways of giving to charity.

[moony]

I despise the RSPCA. Having spent a number of years attending to the feet of the horses in their care on a private yard the amount of money they waste on pointless cases is unbelievable. The number of horses that were kept at ridiculously inflated costs for 6 months plus to either be slaughtered as they were not re homeable or returned to their owners after losing the case was frightening. We tried to offer a mare a new home off said yard and it took them over 6 months to try and sort it out. In the end we gave up and the mare was destroyed.
My experience of the officers are that of people on a power trip that try to make you believe they have the same rights as the police when in all honesty a worker from Oxfam has as many rights when they visit you.
While there is a need for such a charity the RSPCA is failing badly.

[Herdygirl]

Can any one find out what exactly are an RSPCA's offciers right?  because i can't