ICT PROJECT

By Florence Garate-Steffens
 About the RSPCA

The RSPCA is a well known charity who work towards a world in which
all humans respect and care for animals, their goal being for us all to
live in harmony. They have been working for more then 180 years to
ease the suffering of animals.
The charity work around the clock to prevent any harm to all animals of
all different shapes and sizes. They also work hard in educating the
public and campaigning. The RSPCA is a charitable organisation that
receives no funding and relies entirely on the public. Its 82 million
annual running costs are paid for purely by voluntary donations of
animal loving persons.

The charity was launched in 1824 and was originally known as the
society of the prevention of cruelty to animals. It was the first national
animal protection society in the world. An MP named Richard Martin
championed the first anti-cruelty act by giving cattle, horses and sheep
protection through the parliament. Towards the 1840’s the SPCA was
becoming a rapidly growing charity and led to Queen Victoria giving
her permission for the society of the prevention of cruelty to animals to
be renamed as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals.

The RSPCA international campaigns for better Europe wide animal

welfare standards. For over 20 years it’s worked along side with all
other European member countries that strive towards preventing veal
calf crates, leghold traps, cosmetic testing on animals and the use of
drift nets to catch dolphins.

Inspectors and animal collection officers (ACO’s) are the frontline men
and women working for the RSPCA. They work very long hours in the
fight to prevent animal cruelty. One effective way they achieve this is,
by taking private prosecutions against those who break the laws that
are in place to protect animals. The Animal Welfare Act law came into
force on the 18th March 2007 in Wales and on the 6th April 2007 in
England. The act simply means that the owner of any pet is legally
obliged to care for their pet and if they do not it is a “welfare offense”.
They only ask that you:
• Give the animal a proper diet, including fresh water
• Somewhere suitable to live
• Protection from and treatment of illness and injury
• The ability to express normal behaviour

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 Here are some statistics to show their tireless hard
work

Phone calls received

1,300,000

1,250,000

1,200,000
Phone calls
received
1,150,000

1,100,000

1,050,000
2003 2004 2005 2006

For complaints about cruelty to animals in England and Wales you

should contact their cruelty and advice line (0300 1234 999). Looking
after any animal is a huge commitment and takes time, money and
patience. RSPCA offers online expert pet care tips and advice for your
pet’s health and happiness, so there is no excuse for animal to be
treated any differently to a human being. Pet insurance is always a
very handy investment to ensure your pets have a healthy long life.

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 With Help?
Volunteering for the RSPCA is one of the enjoyable ways to help animal
welfare. Each branch is a separately registered charity relying on
volunteers to help and enable them to do something positive for
animals. Volunteers carry out a variety of roles such as welfare work,
fundraising shop work and trusteeship. Most of the volunteering work
does not involve practical hands on animal care, although there are
some opportunities to get involved in dog walking, cat socialising etc.
All roles influence animal welfare considerably and people with a wide
range of skills are excellent help. The RSPCA has animal centres,
wildlife centres and hospitals that you could help in. You can also adopt
a pet from the RSPCA and give a loving animal a new warm home and
add a new addition to yr family.

The RSPCA has never received any direct financial support from the
government, the rising costs are never ending and there current costs
to prevent cruelty and promote equality for animals and humans are
running over £95 million a year. This is why your help is vital and very
much needed. Here are a few examples of what your donation could do
to help:
• £5 could feed a cat for a week.
• £10 could safely board a cruelty care horse for a day.
• £25 could kit out an inspector with hard hat, boots and life jacket.
• £50 could help equip an inspector’s van with an animal first-aid kit,
pet carrier and animal catching set.
With your kindness and donations you could make the difference
between life and death for these helpless animals. There are lots of
ways we can help, by giving our time, care, money or even just
register to show your support is all valued. Here’s Daisy for example:

Could you spare £5 a month to help?

Fund our vital work?

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You can help animals like Daisy
Daisy was found in the woods, tied to a tree with a piece of rope. She
recovered in the care of the RSPCA and has been found a loving new
home.
We can't do it without you.

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About 70,000 animals are re-homed and given a new beginning each
year. They all have a different story as to why they arrived to the
RSPCA; many may have been unwanted pets that have been
heartlessly dumped or victims of animal cruelty. So it’s very important
to help to put a stop to it.

The RSPCA has a 24hr cruelty and advice helpline. They also have a
very useful website with lots of information about their organisation
and could help you find your local RSPCA shop if you wanted to.
(www.rspca.org.uk)

There are also many other animal welfare organisation that work
towards keeping animals out of danger, such as WSPA, PDSA and the
Blue Cross. The biggest being WSPA, they have a wider range of
campaigning and help animals over seas. WSPA campaigns to protect
bears from captivity, stray animals in danger of inhumane deaths,
factory farming and working horse etc. Another organisation I believe is
well worth contributing to.

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 Bibliography

• www.rspca.org.uk
• www.wspa.org.uk
• www.pdsa.org.uk
• www.bluecross.org.uk