R.S.P.C.A - Cornwall excepted! (RSPCA in general)

Member Name: nikkisly

Product:	RSPCA in general
Date:	01/04/01 (782 review reads)
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Many, many years ago, I was reported to the R.S.P.C.A for cruelty to an animal.Now, before everyone rushes for the NU button and sends loads of hate comments,please,let me explain.

The animal in question was my horse. I bought him when he was just six months old and loved him until he died from a brain tumour twelve years later and he was my best friend.He trusted me.

When I went through some bad times financially, I literally went without food myself so that he could eat. I went to care for him at least twice a day for every one of those years,in rain, sun or snow, even when I was ill myself. And I was accused of cruelty...

It was summertime. A long, hot summer when every horse in the world seemed to be out in the fields grazing contentedly. And my horse had developed a lump on his leg.

At first, it was just a little lump, but gradually it increased in size. My vet scratched his head for a couple of weeks before finally deciding that the lump had to be removed and - horror of horrors - it was a cancerous tumour. The vet operated and was confident that he had removed it all, but he insisted that my horse had to be kept in his stable for at least a week rather than being allowed out to graze, so as not to risk opening up the wound before it had properly healed.Only try telling that to a horse who absolutely didn't want to be confined to his stable when all his friends were out at grass. He went berserk,shouting constantly to his 'mates' outside, trying desperately to escape and finally attempting to jump the half door out of his stable.

I took a week's holiday from work and spent 24 hours a day living in the feed store attached to his stable. Finally, after 7 days, I decided to risk popping home for half an hour to have a bath...

In the 25 minutes that I was away, a well meaning person heard the commotion coming from the stable and opened the top door to find a distressed,sick, skin and bone horse
who had obviously been abandoned and they called the R.S.P.C.A.An inspector arrived within 30 minutes of receiving the 'phone call.

I was actually grateful. Grateful to the person who had made the call, for caring enough to do so and grateful to the R.S.P.C.A for their prompt response. I had a genuine reason for my 'cruelty', but the person who rang wasn't to know that. Needless to say, the inspector who arrived checked with my vet and went away satisfied that my horse was being very well looked after.He also did a follow up check three weeks later and I was overjoyed to be able to show him a fit, well and happy horse with nothing worse than a fading scar on one leg.

That was 23 years ago. Since then, I have moved from Leicestershire to Cornwall and I have now lost every bit of respect that I ever had for the R.S.P.C.A.

Case 1: We called the R.S.P.C.A to report a sheep which had fallen over the cliff opposite my father's house and was stranded on a narrow ledge just yards above the sea. They didn't come and the sheep died after several days without food and water.

Case 2: We called the R.S.P.C.A about an injured owl which appeared in our garden. Their response - we won't come all that way for an injured bird. We eventually took the owl to a local bird charity who took it in and cared for it until it was well enough to be released into the wild again.

Case 3: We called the R.S.P.C.A after a feral cat was killed by a car, again outside my fathers house. We knew that this cat had a litter of very young kittens hidden under the hedge in a field behind the house and that they would certainly die if not rescued quickly. The advice we were given was not to disturb them and that an inspector would call to collect them. No-one came and the kittens died.

Case 4: We called the R.S.P.C.A to ask for their help in dealing with a fox which had been shot but not killed.This was an animal that was suff
ering untold agony, was unable to hunt and feed itself and had a gradually worsening infection. It took two weeks to die. The R.S.P.C.A never came.

I'm not sure why the R.S.P.C.A don't seem to want to help animals in Cornwall. Maybe we're too far way from their nearest depot, perhaps they are understaffed - or perhaps they are too busy making the T.V. programmes which show the nation what a caring charity they are, protecting animals all day, every day. Unless, of course, they live in Cornwall.

I now report any sick or injured animals to our local charities and any suspected cruelty cases to our local police. To me, the R.S.P.C.A have become ineffective and I no longer trust or respect the organisation which was so quick to respond all those years ago. As a result, my donations now go to other charities - those who will actually act to prevent animal cruelty and suffering.

Oh, and I did write to the R.S.P.C.A to question why they didn't come - it's now been two years, and they've been too busy to reply. Rescuing animals? Probably not in Cornwall.

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