In the Times today, RSPCA could lose powers due to their politically driven prosecutions RSPCA could be stripped of power to prosecute as MPs launch investigation - Telegraph
Not lose so much as have them subject to independent review - no bad thing for any prosecuting body. For all the good they do, I feel uncomfortable that a provate organisation can prosecute someone without any review.
Thew same is desperately needed in Australia. West Australia is currently having an inquiry in the RSPCA
I'm not comfortable with a private organization having that kind of power, we have something similar here with the ASPCA, or is it the humane society in some places, I wish that they would lose that kind of power. Some things just shouldn't be outsourced.
While the idea that a non state organisation has so much power is worrying, what would be the alternatives? I can hardly see the government investing money, time and effort to create a service as good and vigorous as the RSPCA.
The work the RSPCA do is invaluable, and short of setting up a statutory animal welfare investigative service (which isn't going to happen anytime soon) or local councils taking up the role (Again, not going to happen due to budget cuts, albeit they have the powers but not the duty) we have to keep them going forward. However, the fact there is no independent review of their prosecutions is concerning. In Scotland, SSPCA can report to cases but they have to go through the Procurator Fiscals service (Broadly equivalent to the CPS)
The RSPCA has been placed on probation for two years, though a government panel though that they should lose their power to prosecute entirely. There have been some changes to the type and amount of power they do have though. What do you all think?: Ministers put RSPCA on 'probation' for two years over prosecutions policy
I think it's a fair and reasonably balanced conclusion. The RSPCA have been demonstrably over-zealous in a number of cases in recent years and something needed to be done to re-calibrate them.
They could gather the evidence like the police and then allow the Crown prosecution Service to decide on any charges, a charity shouldn't be able to do both. They are more an AR group sometimes than an animal charity. Some of the cases they have prosecuted proberbly wouldn't have gone through with the CPS and I think could be called victimisation but they say every time they do prosecute their donations go up, so it's win win for them, as if they don't win the tax payer picks up the bill. A very good charity but now somewhat out of control
We have a completely out of control RSPCA here in Australia, too. An RSPCA employee inspected my sister's horses, noted that one was underweight (it was a rescue she had had for four weeks and was rehabilitating with the assistance of a veterinarian) and shot it within five minutes of leaving her a voicemail. She was too distraught to take action but that man should have been fired and probably prosecuted himself. Our RSPCA has three functions as an advocacy body, retail entity and investigatory authority. The latter is an appalling conflict of interest with each of the former two.
That's awful, they could have at least given her a chance to get the Vet to vouch for her or something! I'm so sorry she had to go through that. It seems like a violation of due process, but then again you are in Australia and I don't know how it works where you are (though i'm sure your legal system is better than mine). I didn't know they had the power to shoot your animal, that just seems ridiculous.
He must have been on a power trip. Unfortunately not everyone that goes into that kind of work is looking forward to doing work to benefit the public, some of them just want to throw their weight around and make themselves look important.
There was a similair case here with a families cat the vet was treating it but was long haired and a little unkept, that was enough for the family to loose the cat and be threatened with prossecution for cruelty. I think the children found out after the event as the inspector (who aren't actual inspetors but are given authoritarian titles of rank) decided not to wait until the family could say goodbye. Give some one a uniform and off they go dictating to the world.
I was quite disturbed at the size and grandeur of the head quarters. Daily Mail apologises to RSPCA over two inaccurate stories I think charities need to be brought to heel on their spending on salaries, perks and accomadation. I have not supported the RSPCA financially for many years.
The moral of these stories above( the Horse and the Cat) is that these inspectors did not properly evaluate the situations or look into the backgrounds sufficiently before they acted. I have seen other examples of the RSPCA behaving like this before also.
The Horse and Cat are a good example of how things aren't black and white, that there are gray areas, and it appears that the RSPCA doesn't realize that.
