Charity Commission to probe RSPCA badger campaign.

I know this subject has had different reactions from all walks of life but i have posted it as it is of concern to us because it involves the RSPCA. If you want to post your opinion of the Badger cull by all means do so BUT please keep your replies civil. Thankyou.



The RSPCA is to be investigated over allegations that its lobbying on the badger cull has been “aggressive and threatening.”

The Charity Commission confirmed that it is looking into whether the organisation’s activities have breached its charitable status.

A spokesman for the Charity Commission said: “We can confirm that concerns have been raised with us about the charity’s campaigning activities in relation to the badger cull and live animal exports.

“We are currently assessing these concerns.”

The commission’s powers include replacing trustees, freezing bank accounts and appointing an interim manager.

The spokesman said that as part of the assessment, the commission had written to the charity’s trustees, asking how it ensured its campaigning activity “legitimately meets the test of furthering their objects in accordance with our guidance, and that they have fully considered the impact on their charity's reputation.

“We will carefully consider their response in order to determine what, if any, regulatory action is required.”

NFU President Peter Kendall said it had made a formal complaint about the RSPCA’s conduct, which has included urging consumers to boycott milk from areas where there is a cull and threatening to strip a welfare accreditation from farmers supporting it.
..He said: “Many NFU members have raised concerns about some of the RSPCA’s recent activities relating to the Government’s policy on the eradication of bovine TB, including the culling of badgers, and its activities on the live export of animals.

“Farmers have always understood the RSPCA to be a charity that works to safeguard the welfare of animals and have no issues with its charitable work.”

But Mr Kennedy said the RSPCA had a “privileged status” and “it must respect the law that applies to charities and it must abide by Charity Commission guidance.

“The NFU is concerned as to whether the RSPCA may have stepped outside these boundaries with some of its recent activities.

“We have asked the Charity Commission to consider the issues we have raised and take whatever action it sees fit.”

The respected animal charity has sailed into choppier waters in the last year with a high profile stance against the badger cull, which is due to get under way in parts of West Somerset shortly.

Last year it wrote to farmers awarded the Freedom Food mark, a wholly owned subsidiary of the charity, threatening to eject those who voluntarily took part in the cull.

It also urged consumers to boycott milk from cull areas saying the products would be “soaked in badgers’ blood”.

Emyr Jones, president of the Farmers’ Union of Wales, confirmed he had written to the Charity Commission outlining his concerns about the RSPCA’s “aggressive and threatening” lobbying.

A spokesman for the RSPCA said no rules had been broken.

“We can confirm that the Charity Commission has written to us and that correspondence is ongoing.

“We are confident we have acted properly in accordance with the requirements of charity law and the Commission's published guidance.”

Well, this is certainly surprising. The one time I think RSPCA are doing the right thing ... OK one of the very FEW times (opposing the cull as there is really not enough {medical} evidence re TB to go ahead with it) is the time that they are reported to the Charity Commission. How very ironic. But my guess is that this is because, as usual, they have implemented their bully-boy tactics and threatened the farmers whose livelihood is within the area of the (initial) cull. The RSPCA say smugly that they have not broken any rules. I think RSPCA have become more aggressive and more bullying since Gavin Grant took over.

So the RSPCA is threatening to strip farmers of their Freedom Foods accreditation if they take part in the badger cull.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

It would appear that seals allegedly are (or were) being culled in their Freedom Foods approved fish farms. And the CEO of RSPCA Freedom Foods...at the time the article was written...a man by the name of Leigh GRANT. Ring any bells? Very common surname of course, but I just wondered...as one does!!

A while ago i saw a write up by the RSPCA which implied that the intention was to `wipe out` the Badger population in certain areas and not reduce it.
This was taken in the literal sense by the general public but the complaints to the Avertising Standards Authority from the farming and countryside fraternity flooded in. The RSPCA were accused of `Twisting the truth` to suit their own agenda. You have to admit that this was a excellent propaganda move.
This inturn led to this investigation.

Something else i pondered .. Today the farmers won an injunction banning protesters from interupting any ongoing Badger cull. One such anonymous protesters words were `We will keep the Badgers in their setts for as long as we can` and they would ignore any injunction.
So .. if the marksmen are out at night for two weeks solid then surely the Badgers will starve to death anyway.
Shouldn`t the RSPCA also see this as cruelty to the Badger?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Not sure if this one was part of the cull or someone trigger happy?

Trilby Bee wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Not sure if this one was part of the cull or someone trigger happy?

The cull has not yet started TB so this would not be part of it.
Judging by past experiences i think this will be a frequent event, injured Badgers will be treated by the RSPCA and they will say they were shot where in fact they were hit by a vehicle.
Another way to boost their propaganda machine and further their objections to the Badger cull.

I must admit this was the first thing that entered my head when reading it.
You must be pretty dim if you thought that dumping the badger on the road would make people think it had been hit by a car, surely the wound on its head would be a giveaway   I would have thought that your best action would be to dump it somewhere you wouldn't expect it to be found. But, of course, a poor animal being injured in a RTA doesn't make headlines does it???
Correct me if I'm wrong but is it legal for just anyone to put an animal to sleep, thought it had to be done by a qualified vet?

misty02 wrote:
Correct me if I'm wrong but is it legal for just anyone to put an animal to sleep, thought it had to be done by a qualified vet?

This misty02 is a grey area, from a welfare point of view no it isn`t but it`s how others view it.
Take for instance a Badger, which as we know is protected.
There was an RSPCA case about two, maybe three years ago where a hunter (who we`ll call XX) who was out  shooting one evening came across a Badger which was dragging both of its back legs. XX has to make a decision, A. Shoot the Badger and end its suffering or B. Let it crawl off into the undergrowth to die an agonising death as it possibly will never be seen again. XX chose option A and shot the Badger, unfortunately for him he was seen by a member of the public. The RSPCA got involved and the matter ended in court and a world of hurt for XX. In court the RSPCA barrister asked XX if he was a qualified vet to which the answer was no. XX then had to explain that if he was not qualified on the subject how could he possibly make a decision that the Badger would not have survived its injuries or not.
XX thought he was doing the Badger a favour but instead picked up a huge fine and lost his firearms license.

I think an RSPCA officer only has to be shown how to euthanise an animal once by a vet and then they can go out on their own with a hyperdermic needle or even a captive bolt pistol.

You can even beat a deer to death (yes, legally) with an object on the roadside to end its suffering if you have explored all viable options of making contact with someone who can safely deal with a deer RTA. Take this scenario. A car in front of you has hit a deer and it is lieing on the verge but not dead so what do you do out of 4 options available?
A. Phone the police, they will phone a marksman but he could be hours away as he is at his daytime job.
B. Phone a vet BUT who is paying him to travel out an euthanise the deer?
C. Do what most do and that`s drive away and leave it for someone else.
D. Do the deed yourself?

I realise that these types of cases aren`t exactly `Putting to sleep` but what i`m trying to say is yes, based on your own judgement you can end an animals suffering if you deem it warranted.