RSPCA rehomes only 1 in 3 rescue animals

IT IS a mission statement with which only the stoniest of hearts could disagree. ‘Every animal that comes into our care deserves a loving forever home,’ the RSPCA says on its website.

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the country’s largest animal charity last year provided new homes to just 44,611 creatures – barely a third of the 115,000 it rescued.

The figure – a sharp drop from the 70,000 it rehomed in 2009 – has reignited concerns that the RSPCA is too quick to euthanise animals entrusted to its care. Last night the charity confirmed that 28.9 per cent of all the animals it rescued last year were put to sleep.

Anne Kasica, who runs the SHG, which represents those who have clashed with the RSPCA, said: ‘The huge gap between the number of animals rescued and the number rehomed raises serious concerns.

‘It is difficult to understand why the RSPCA deems so many animals as unsuitable to rehome. In many cases whether or not an animal can be rehomed is subjective.’ The RSPCA insisted that ‘no healthy, rehomeable dogs, cats, rabbits or horses were put to sleep’ last year – but was unable to provide details of the fate of the 70,000 animals that could not be found homes.

Vet Martina Stuart, who has given evidence at cases brought by the RSPCA, said: ‘There is something not right with the RSPCA. They have lost sight of prevention of cruelty and are only interested in publicity, profiteering and prosecution.’

The RSPCA has previously admitted that it wrongly euthanised some animals. In 2016, it was forced to apologise to a family whose cat it destroyed after neighbours raised concerns about its hair being too long. The family said that the animal hated being groomed and its fur could only be trimmed under anaesthetic.

The RSPCA said the unhomed animals figure included lost pets that had been reunited with their owners, those that had been fostered and animals still in its care as part

‘They’ve lost sight of the prevention of cruelty’

of ongoing legal cases. It said of the 60,423 wild animals rescued or collected by the charity last year, 6,256 were returned to the wild, while 4,835 were dead when found or died soon afterwards. A further 25,424 were taken to RSPCA wildlife centres and other organisations, while 23,908 were put to sleep where they were found.

An RSPCA s pokesman s ai d: ‘Euthanasia is always a last resort and only used to alleviate the suffering of an animal when there are no other options. We will always do whatever is possible to give that animal a second chance, through rehoming or release into the wild.’