What a fat cat! SSPCA chief rakes in £222k
THE controversial boss of Scotland’s biggest animal charity has been given an inflation-busting pay rise.
Company accounts show Stuart Earley, Chief Executive of the Scottish SPCA, raked in nearly £222,000 last year – entirely funded by donations from members of the public concerned about animal welfare.
The award dwarfs the annual salary given to Prime Minister Theresa May.
Last night, Scottish Labour praised the charity’s work but warned donations should not be used to ‘enrich’ employees.
The Scottish SPCA was set up in 1839, initially to improve the welfare of horses. It is run on public donations and has since become Scotland’s main animal welfare charity, with rehoming centres across Scotland.
Mr Earley was appointed as chief executive in 2008. He also served on the board of directors until the middle of last year.
Formerly in charge at Deep Sea World in North Queensferry, Fife, he also worked at Whipsnade animal park in Bedfordshire. The charity last week confirmed that Mr Earley had been awarded a pay rise of 2 per cent plus the rate of inflation, taking his basic wage to £190,855.
His pension contributions from the charity more than doubled from £12,950 the previous year to £31,033 in 2015.
John Robins an animal welfare campaigner with pressure group Animal Concern, earns £26,000 a year.
He said: ‘I’m totally disgusted that someone in that position is taking money from pensioners that are eking out £3 a month from the adverts on the TV. It’s nearly £100,000 more than the Prime Minister gets. There’s no justification.’
Financial documents from the Scottish SPCA also record a 5 per cent drop in fundraising income between 2014 and 2015. Mr Earley was first labelled a ‘fat cat’ last year when it was revealed his basic wage had soared from £160,000 to £185,000. Meanwhile, the organisation’s rescue centre in Shetland was closed.
The Scottish SPCA was compared to Mary’s Meals, a charity which aims to feed some of the world’s poorest children. It reported a similar annual income of £13 million but boss Magnus Macfarlane Barrow only took a salary of around £34,000.
Yesterday, a Scottish Labour spokesman said: ‘The SSPCA does vital work and all staff and volunteers should be applauded. But there must always be a recognition that donations are made for a charity, not for the enrichment of those who work for them.’
A spokesman for the Scottish SPCA stressed that the chief executive had actually seen a slight reduction in his overall remuneration – explaining that he had received a performance-related bonus of £31,000 in 2014. And Harry Haworth, Scottish SPCA chairman, added: ‘We are proud that we are able to spend 83p in every £1 donated on our core mission.’