3 Cats, 1 Tortoise and Noah's Ark Re-visited If My Wife Had Her Way! (RSPCA Animal Centres)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	RSPCA Animal Centres
Date:	11/05/02 (1399 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Too many, see op

Disadvantages: Even if you don't like animals you can still contibute!

Well as Victor Meldrew would say "I don’t belieeeeeeve it." Yes, it’s my 50th opinion and I never thought I’d get this far. So far, I’ve survived being barged to the floor by my kids in their haste to get on Disney.com, my wife’s disparaging looks as she stands there arms folded, tutting and looking at her watch and even Keith’s opinions about sick and advocat!

So maybe your 50th should be dedicated to something that means a lot? Well, I’ve decided to write about the RSPCA, as we are a household of animal lovers. Yes, we’ve had guinea pigs, gerbils, goldfish, mice, rats, lions, cats and tortoises so far (I’m lying about the lions) with more to come I’m sure. Before I talk about the RSPCA, seeing as I have your attention for just a few minutes, then just a little background so you know where I’m coming from.

---A love story?---
I met my wife back in 1983. Back then she could be a little stern with fellas and I remember us having one spectacular fallout where, having dropped me off home one evening, I slammed her car door shut and walked across the bonnet of her car (I could be a bit feisty at times). Strangely, we went our separate ways for 12 months until a chance re-union brought us back together again and the rest is history! Why am I bringing this up? Well, on our first spell together we were discussing the future including marriage one evening. I always remember my then girlfriend telling me that she didn’t believe in marriage and was going to live on her own in a house full of animals. As it turned out she got both (but just who are the animals?).

---Back to the point---
Anyway, I digress and have said too much already. It’s a good job that she never reads this stuff or I would be giraffe fodder by now. So, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A bit of history is always useful.

Sowing the seeds for the RSPCA
, the first anti-cruelty bill was piloted through parliament by Richard Martin MP giving a degree of protection to cattle, horses and sheep in 1822.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was launched in London in 1824 by 22 founding members.

1832 saw 181 convictions for cruelty as the society sought a change in public values. At this time the culture was very much based on treating animals as commodities so it was hardly a given that the society would receive unanimous support for it’s efforts.

1840 was the royal seal of approval given by Queen Victoria and the RSPCA was officially born.

1842 and the organisation was spreading nation wide. New branches came into being in Bath, Brighton, Bristol, Coventry and Scarborough.

By now the organisation was becoming established and with the creation of regional inspectors and the promise from local campaigners to contribute £20 a year towards their wages then the network of 187 branches became the nucleus of what forms the organisation today.

---RSPCA today---
With over 328 uniformed inspectors and 146 animal collection officers, the operation is a 24 hour, 7 day a week, 365 days a year operation. Annual running costs burgeon at £71 million annually. RSPCA has charitable status and is always looking for donations from the public. As the title suggests, the organisation tries to prevent rather than prosecute which is a last resort. They watch the treatment of animals in transit, in markets, pet shops, boarding kennels and farms and offer help and advice about their care.

We are supposed to be a nation of animal lovers. Maybe this is why the organisation is always so busy. A few facts about just how busy the organisation is:

Every 19 seconds someone somewhere in England and Wales dials 0870 55 55 999 – the RSPCA’s national cruelty and advice line – for help.

In 2000 alone the RSPCA undertook 14,452 insp
ections, and removed 180,168 animals from danger or abuse. There were a staggering 13,112 rescues in the same year.

Still in 2000, The RSPCA rehomed 96,403 animals – mostly through the Society’s network of 186 branches.

Branches are separately registered charities operating subject to RSPCA and branch rules. They work for animal welfare locally and many provide services including subsidised veterinary treatment for those in need, neutering and rehoming schemes. Together, branches are responsible for 40 branch-run clinics, 37 animal centres and ten animal welfare centres.

The RSPCA is responsible for four animal hospitals, three specialist wildlife hospitals, one wildlife rehabilitation unit, 13 animal centres and five clinics throughout England and Wales.

If you want more information about the RSPCA then there is a brilliant website at rspca.org.

---Our experience---
Over the years we’ve rehomed cats from The Cat’s Protection League, private individuals and the RSPCA. Obviously, the organisation deals with more than just cats but we’ve tended to go for felines because we love ‘em I suppose. Our last 2 moggies have come from Woodside in Leicester. Tabby, our latest, cost £35. If you want a kitten then it’s £55. For that, you get a cat that’s been treated by a vet, pet insurance for 12 months, micro-chipping in case the animal gets lost and the cat will be neutered before you can take it on. There is always the concern that rescued animals may go to an inappropriate home so the RSPCA will carry out checks on you and may even visit your home. If you have any existing animal cruelty convictions then you may as well forget it.

Basically, if you want to rescue an animal then the best thing to do is visit a branch. Most seem to come in toward the end of the week so the best time to go is on a Friday or early Saturday. We’ve made the mistake of going on a Sunday
twice now and most of the animals have been reserved or gone. You can ring in for availability but this can’t replace having a look at the animals available. There is usually a helper there to talk you through the animals present. Not all are available straight away. One of the cats we took a shine too last time wasn’t available because it had a mystery illness and they weren’t sure whether it would survive.

Our latest cat was a present for my boy who has been a reformed character at school recently. We promised him his own pet to give him some responsibility. It goes without saying that if you do decide to give animals as presents please make sure that the intended recipient is committed to your gesture. Animals are a long-term commitment and far too many are dumped after losing their novelty value. I always remember my father driving out into the countryside when I was a boy and dumping a dog he didn’t want any more. You can imagine the impact this had and yet the dog returned a few days later having found his way home from over 40 miles away!

---How can you help?---
If you are anything like my wife then she’s a member of WWF, IFAW, RSPCA and TIHPL (The I Hate Paul League). In fact, if you suggest that you are even vaguely supportive of fox hunting then she would probably beat you to death with a wet haggis. Of course, you don’t have to be animal batty like her but instead can do the following:

 Contribute through ad-hoc donations or set up a regular standing order to the charity. In 2000 alone, the RSPCA's overseas fund distributed more than £320,000 to animal welfare organisations in 23 different countries. There are more than 160 animal welfare organisations in 65 countries associated to the RSPCA. The more money the organisation gets, the more it can help to educate and prevent cruelty. Online donations can be made through switch, Visa or MasterCard. The Society receives no help fr
om the government or the National Lottery.

 Be a volunteer. If you have the time then volunteers help to run the various branches. This involves being involved with the care of the animals, the administration burden, being on committees to organise, amongst other things, fundraising and so on. There is an induction course after which the RSPCA promise to back it up with further training to help in whichever area it is you’ve chosen to be involved with. You may simply want to rattle a few cans looking for donations outside your local Tesco. Well that’s just fine and is just as invaluable as anything else. You do get the added bonus of working with animals if you do decide to get more involved.

 You may decide to join the RSPCA lock, stock and barrel. You can be a friend of the organisation for £3 a month or be a national member for £17.50 a year or £25 for partner applications. You have to be over 18 for this. Life membership is £500 or £750 for joint applications and, not wishing to exclude the little ones, £6 a year will secure junior membership.

---The website---
I couldn’t really write a review without mentioning the website. There is loads of useful stuff including: All the latest news, latest campaigns, information about caring for animals, details on how you can help, an educational section, a science section dealing mainly with wild animals and those on the farm, a locator for your local branch, an international section, a publications section, a section on careers and a playpen for the kiddies. Just looking at all the piccies of the various animals makes it worth a visit in it's own right and there's a lot more than just cats and dogs there!

Needless to say, I just had to look at the children’s bit and it’s really rather grand. There are competitions, e-cards, "Where’s Mungo?" which is a doggie virtual board game for two and all manner of trivia for
the little one’s (I really must stop Jill influencing me).

---Dragged off again!---
OK...really must go now and I may well get that laptop that Jill keeps suggesting (there’s a queue at the door). By now you’ll realise that we kinda like animals and strongly advocate the RSPCA which is a brilliant organisation. It really is such a worthwhile organisation and, if I would ask anything of you, it’s to consider giving a rescued animal a home. The organisation’s mentioned will all try and re-home before any other considerations are made and you’ll be giving an animal a second chance. We get so much more than we give to our pets and it really wouldn’t be the same without them.

Thanks for reading

Marandina

Note:

The RSPCA branch that we’ve used twice now is Woodside Animal Centre
190 Scudamore Road, Leicester LE3 1UQ
Opening times: Monday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday 11am to 4pm
Tuesday 1pm to 4pm
Weekends 11am to 3.30pm

The website gives comprehensive details like those above for your nearest branch.

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