RSPCA Cambridge branch

a local branch of the RSPCA

www.rspca-cambridge.org.uk

www.rspca.org.uk

RSPCA

Formed in 1824, as the "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals", to promote the enforcement of "Martin's Act"; the first ever legal protection for animals.

The original SPCA was based in London, but similar groups developed throughout the country. They were offered the option of joining with the London SPCA as local branches if they could prove that they could raise the funds needed to pay an inspector's salary two years running.

Once they had affiliated to the National SPCA they would be provided with an inspector who had been given standardised training. Each year they would be expected to send the cost of his salary to the National SPCA, who would then be responsible for ensuring that he was paid regularly and that funds were set aside for his pension (important as it was not uncommon for inspectors to be roughed up in the course of their duties).

172 RSPCA Branches

• Network of branches covers the whole of England and Wales

• Ulster and Scotland have their own SPCAs• Responsible for local animal welfare services:

rehoming, low-cost veterinary treatments etc.• Inspectors are now funded and run by the National

RSPCA, but the branches provide essential backup so that animals taken into RSPCA care by the inspectors are looked after and found homes if possible

Volunteer committees   

• All RSPCA branches are headed by committees of volunteers who are the branch trustees

• Elected annually by the local membership• Minimum of 7 and maximum of 14 committee members• Elected committee members must be paid-up adult

members of the society of at least 3 months standing• Responsible for the financial affairs of the branch

Branch funding   

• Branches are responsible for raising their own funds• Funds derived from:

o Legacieso Donationso Fees (from clinics etc.)o Charity shopso Fundraising activities

Support for Inspectors

Branches provide essential support for the work of the inspectors:• Rehome "at-risk" animals• Source of low- or no-cost veterinary care means that no-one

can genuinely claim poverty as a reason for neglecting animal

Veterinary Care in Cambridge

RSPCA Animal Clinic, 1 Pool Way, Whitehill Road, Cambridge CB5 8NT

• Most branches do not have their own clinics: must use local vets. Normally help low-income owners by paying part of fee.

• Cambridge has its own clinic, run with the support of the University Vet School

RSPCA Clinic in Cambridge

Mutually beneficial • RSPCA gets veterinary services at low cost• University gets access to cases for teaching students• Over 3,000 cases seen each year (most branches giving

help via private vets could only provide 200-300 treatments each year).

Still need to use private vets as well

• Clinic is only open four mornings a week o new clients may not be able to wait until the clinic is openo they may not have transport to Cambridgeo Vet School can only perform a limited number of

operations each year: may be a greater need for spay/neuter than can be provided

BUT

At the moment we do not have enough funds to afford help for owned animals except at our clinic.

Rehoming

"At risk" animals must have priority:

• Cruelty cases• Sick/injured strays• Abandonment• "Too many" animals• Unable to cope• Owner "out of the picture" (e.g. in hospital, in prison)

May mean that animals who are simply unwanted cannot be accepted. 

Support to keep animals

• Help with veterinary care• Advice (e.g. on training)• Spay/neuter• Refer to other help (e.g. Cinnamon Trust dog-walkers)

May be preferable to rehoming animals.

Some MythsMyth: The RSPCA only keeps animals for seven days before putting them down.

Not true! In the case of healthy or treatable animals we do our very best to keep them as long as is needed to find a loving home. We DO try to keep strays with very poor recovery prospects alive for at least a week (if this can be done without suffering) so that their owner has a chance of tracing them.

Myth: The RSPCA puts down thousands of healthy animals every year.

In fact the RSPCA very rarely puts down healthy animals simply because they are unwanted and the bulk of its euthanasia figures comprise:

•Injured wild animals which cannot be saved

•Stray domestic animals with untreatable illness/injury

•Owned domestic animals put down at charity clinics to avoid further suffering.

Myth: The RSPCA is hoarding enormous amounts of money instead of using it to help animals

In a typical year, the RSPCA rehomes over 70,000 pet animals and treats just over 214,000, in addition to the investigative work of the inspectors, campaigns, education etc.

Our control centre takes over a million calls each year.

A typical year’s income would be around £100,000,000 — which may appear huge, but the amount of money available per call is less than £100, which would not cover a lot of veterinary treatment.

“No such thing as Society”

RSPCA services depend on the continuing effort of large numbers of individuals.

If a service provided by the government hasn’t got enough funding to meet needs they can simply increase our taxes!

If the RSPCA runs out of money, or doesn’t have enough volunteers, services stop.http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/supportus/joinus

Further Reading

Most academic books discussing the problems of “policing” cruelty to animals and the social aspects of pet ownership (such as control of stray dogs) have been written by American authors.

Although there are general similarities, this means not everything is applicable to this country — for example in the US the equivalents of UK dog wardens are responsible for cruelty prosecutions and they are based within the police department.