We look to the future of the RSPCA.

Countryside Alliance Executive Chairman Barney White-Spunner writes: In the 14 months since the RSPCA’s extraordinary prosecution of the Heythrop Hunt it has rarely been out of the headlines. The Alliance took the lead in raising concerns about the methods and motivations for its prosecutions, but many others have followed. Last week we met Stephen Wooler who has been commissioned by the RSPCA Council to carry out a review of the RSPCA’s prosecution function as a result of all the media scrutiny. We have submitted our views to him, which we will publish in due course. If you have been involved in an RSPCA prosecution and would like to respond to the review all the details and a link to the consultation form can be found here.

This week the RSPCA announced that Chief Executive Gavin Grant had left with immediate effect because of health concerns. We wish Mr Grant a speedy recovery, but cannot ignore the opportunity his departure and Stephen Wooler’s review could create to refocus the Society.

Mr Grant was certainly outspoken and said some very inadvisable things about hunting, the badger cull and racing in particular, but he was a symptom of a deeper malaise within the RSPCA rather than the root of its problems. The RSPCA’s membership is now tiny, somewhere around 20,000, and its council is ‘elected’ by a few hundred of those members. The vast majority of people who donate money or pledge legacies to the RSPCA have no say in how it is run.

The RSPCA now has an opportunity to reject the political agenda which has increasingly masked the brilliant work for animal welfare that most of its staff are focussed on most of the time and signal that it is solely concerned with welfare of animals. Let us hope that it takes it.

I for one will not hold my breath. TBH I think Gavin Grant has done just too much harm. Even total strangers don't have a good word to say about him. Was in Tesco at the cat food section (believe it or not, I DO feed them!) and a total stranger, elderly lady, started to say what she thought about them. The fact is that now, with the internet, you don't even have to BUY a paper to see what's going on...it's all there on a screen in front of you. A lot of people who 'used to' support them and now don't. It's a shame it's gone so wrong. They still have their animal hospitals where the vets and nurses do great work...the one in Putney have been, and still are, brill with my neighbour's old cat. GG has been the problem and I think he's only been there two or three years? Bet he got megabucks to go. Anyway, am off to finish my stuff for Stephen Wooler and will await the results of the Review feverishly!

I to think that GG has done great harm, but as TB says he was only there for 2 years and the AWA has been in force for over 7, many people have been victims of the tactics etc of the RSPCA prior to GG's arrival. I wont miss him for sure, but the guy currently acting the role (the deputy I think) is not much different. The chances of a complete turn around are very slim - we can only hope.

The animal shelters and hospitals are good, but its almost like the Police, I think they have a target number of prosecutions to go for, they are certainly motivated above and beyond the animal's welfare. You only have the read the Attorney Generals comments regarding the Inspector the RSPCA reprimanded for standing up for a victim, someone he had tried to help but another inspector took over and prosecuted. Who was the better man????

I have the full transcript of this if anyone is interested!