It’s time for the RSPCA to show it really cares
I’m not surprised that donations to the RSPCA have fallen by £7million amid claims that the animal charity is pursuing contentious political issues. The fact that the RSPCA has a political agenda can be confirmed by travelling around the countryside. Tragically, there are many tethered horses that the charity has no interest in protecting. Had they been tied up by ‘posh’ people, no doubt they would be rescued and the owners prosecuted at lightning speed.
Mary Farrell, East Harling, Norfolk
Given that the RSPCA has recently been involved in divisive political campaigns, it naturally follows that its coffers have started emptying. It prosecuted the Heythrop Hunt when the CPS didn’t, but the quick death of a fox in a hunt actually saves many more animals than it kills. In this celebrity-obsessed age, there is a trend for grandstanding, and the RSPCA has become a victim of this.
J. McLean, Liverpool
If no one else will stand up for wildlife, who will? The police have no interest in prosecuting the hunting fraternity, so do we turn a blind eye to what the hunters do? Cruelty is cruelty, whether it is someone torturing a puppy or someone in a red coat torturing foxes.
As the badger cull is looking to be a total farce, when is someone going to admit it could be bad farming practice that is spreading bovine TB around? Steven Broadbent,
Colne, Lancashire
The RSPCA is not political enough. Some years ago, when the furore about foxhunting was at its height, many hunt supporters joined the RSPCA and other animal welfare societies in the hope of defeating the ban. Now they have all left as they did not succeed. Pamela Brickman,
Bridport, Dorset
There is a lot of discussion about amounts of money spent by the RSPCA on enforcing the Hunting With Dogs Act. However, nothing is said about how much money the Countryside Alliance is willing to spend on defending their cruel activities.
Many people make the mistake of believing that the RSPCA is an animal rescue organisation, but it is an animal welfare organisation set up to prevent unnecessary suffering by advising, educating and, as a last resort, enforcing animal welfare law.
The rescue work is mainly done by volunteers within branches.
Lorna Gowers, Manor Park, East London