Within ten years ........

According to The Times.
Apparently the second in command in the RSPCA reckons the charity will fold within ten years if the way it is run continues in the same vein.
We can only hope ..
I will endeavour to find out more.

Am totally gutted to hear that, as I'm sure the rest of you are.  

Can't imagine they are going to be too pleased with the person who said that?  But it's probably true, if more and more people become disenchanted with them, the donations will dry up and that will be the end of that. Every case in the news like the John Spicer/Georgina Cowley case is surely another nail in their coffin? People are starting to see what their generously donated money is really being spent on and it is ringing their death knell. How sad! They must know that without public support they will not exist...and there are other charities which do such terrific work, with volunteers spending their own time and money and, when the spare bedroom is full,  squeezing a litter of kittens into the bathroom rather than hand them to the RSPCA to be murdered.

Maybe we should start a campaign to have GG booted out and the second in command promoted as it strikes me he at least has seen the light.

This has brightened my life a little. Hope it takes less than the ten years.
It's too late for me and others on here but the sooner that lot are stopped there will be countless innocent people saved from having their lives ruined.

One of the RSPCA’s most senior figures has warned that the charity faces serious doubts over its existence as a result of the controversy generated by recent political campaigns.



Paul Draycott, the RSPCA’s deputy chairman, says he fears aggressive campaigns over contentious issues, such as prosecutions for hunting and against the current badger cull, could alienate wealthy donors.

He also fears that millions of pounds worth of sponsorship from companies such as pet food suppliers could be placed in jeopardy.

In a leaked discussion paper written by Mr Draycott as part of the long-term preparations for the charity’s 200th anniversary in 2024, he said: “There is a potential risk, which does not seem to have been identified or addressed, that if the society is seen to become too ‘political’, that potential [for commercial sponsorship] will become restricted, as new and existing partners may become concerned that their own brand could be affected negatively by being associated with us.”

The RSPCA has rejected many of the points raise by Mr Draycott.

According to critics the charity's involvement in a number of high profile campaigns in recent years has threatened to split the organisation and weaken its appeal among more traditional supporters.
Mr Draycott appears to echo the criticism in his discussion paper, stating: “The society has become more vocal in campaigning, especially in the area of foxhunting and the badger cull. Some of us have become concerned at the lack of a coherent strategy to manage this change in increased campaigning visibility.”

The charity’s deputy chairman is particularly concerned that recent controversy may lead supporters to write the RSPCA out of their wills – traditionally one of its most lucrative sources of funding.

“We do not yet know what effect the current negative publicity is having on these individuals. Even if only a small percentage accept the stories being printed there is a serious potential for legacies to be affected for a number of years to come.

“Once someone changes their will, that potential income is lost forever and could affect us financially far beyond our current difficulties,” he writes in the document, leaked to The Times.

Such are Mr Draycott's concerns that he fears the charity’s very future may be in doubt.

“We have spent months discussing where we want to be in 10 years time, but unless we develop a strategy for now we won't be here then,” he says.

Among the other issues over which Mr Draycott raises concerns are what he claims is a lack of support from other campaigning groups, such as the League Against Cruel Sports, and the working conditions of its front-line staff, some of whom he says have had no pay rise in five years and in some cases do not have access to email.

The RSPCA disputed many of the concerns raised by Mr Draycott, saying his paper had been written as a way of generating discussion and debate among colleagues.

The charity added that it had recently published its strategy to 2024, which was unanimously endorsed by its Trustees. It said that in the last 12 months, the Society has announced a series of important commercial relationships with major UK companies, including Pets at Home and More Than, as well as an expansion in the sale of approved licensed products by retailers.

The RSPCA also said legacies continue to perform at the same level as in recent years. The charity added that its inspectors would all be getting email access shortly.

A RSPCA spokesman said: "The RSPCA looks forward to being around in 2024 and moving into its third century of work for animal welfare.

"The RSPCA enjoys a very close and positive working relationship with the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) and other animal, equine and wildlife charities."

Mike Tomlinson, the chairman of the RSPCA, said: “The trustee body continues to place its full support behind the RSPCA's chief executive, management and all our people who do such outstanding work."

That way we can bring them down sooner, the sooner the better! (sadly cant see it happening though)

millie1* wrote:That way we can bring them down sooner, the sooner the better!  (sadly cant see it happening though)

Never say never ...............  

Admin wrote:

millie1* wrote:That way we can bring them down sooner, the sooner the better!  (sadly cant see it happening though)

Never say never ...............  

True, Admin, the less money they have = the less power and the less chance to persecute pet owners. I very seldom recently see any article praising their actions; on the contrary. And we are not the only ones who can read the papers and decide that they are not doing what they are meant to be doing and that the AWA has spectacularly backfired. You do not have to be one of their victims to see that they are heading down the Suwanee River.
The thing is that today, it's not just newspapers and TV which spreads the word...the internet does it in seconds. Put it this way: I do not think they are gaining in popularity one bit. Funds are down (not down enough, we know) RSPCA 'membership' is down, staff are being laid off and there are plenty influential people asking that they be investigated.

There`s another £4200 down the river which the judge refused to make the accused pay from a recent case. The accused had previously pleaded guilty so the £4200 was needlesly spent.