Give Us More Money Or The Puppy Gets It!

The Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA) has been taking in animals for more than 180 years. But membership is falling and the charity needs to save more than £50 million over the next three years.

So, instead of looking at how it might trim its budget to meet conditions by cutting back on the advertising budget (which is currently running ads every bloody five minutes on some satellite channels), or by stopping the practice of pouring obscenely huge sums of money into the pockets of lawyers, it’s going to….not take in any more animals unless they are cruelty or neglect cases.

… owners bringing in unwanted pets will be directed to another charity or given advice on how to look after the animal.

Which they’ll follow, of course. Being responsible own…

Oh. Hang on.

Still, it saves the RSPCA a few bob…

Tim Wass, Head of Inspectorate, said the RSPCA has been "the dustbin for society's animals" but the charity cannot afford to keep on taking in every unwanted pet.

He said 75,000 animals are re-homed every year but all centres are currently full and the charity has a duty to concentrate on animals suffering cruelty and neglect.

“Like any organisation at the moment we have to answer some difficult economic challenges. RSPCA has always prioritised which animals it takes in. We are looking to formalise that... to make sure that our finite resources go to the animals that need them most,” he said.

Oh, really?

The RSPCA also hope the move will teach owners to take more responsibility for their pets. The charity said that in the past a cat has been dumped because "it did not match the couch", dogs were rejected for "barking" or "hiding shoes" and a chinchilla was brought in because the owner "did not realise it could live for 20 years".

And those sorts of owners are still going to do that. But without the RSPCA to fall back on, they aren’t suddenly going to become sensible owners. They are simply going to dump the animals on another charity.

Or on the street.

The charity also wants to focus more on legal cases since new laws came to prevent animal cruelty.

Well, let’s hope it chooses those a bit more carefully in the future, if ‘not wasting money’ is going to be at the forefront, eh?

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) said the RSPCA said the RSPCA does not have "unlimited resources" to take on animals that have been dumped simply because they are no longer fashionable.

"The recession perhaps has some impact but there is a growing trend for people to buy animals as status symbols and indeed it is all too easy to take on a pet without realising the responsibilities for the care and welfare of that animal," a spokesman said.

Yes, it is. But unless you want to slap legislation on the act of buying and owning a pet, then it…

Ah. I begin to see where this is going.

But Kim Hamilton, chief executive of another animal rescue charity Blue Cross, said pets should be accepted from owners who "simply cannot cope".

"The Blue Cross will always help people who make the responsible choice to give up their pet and will continue to do all that we can to help as many abandoned animals as possible find permanent, loving new homes," she said.

So, if you have any money to leave to charity, don’t leave it to the RSPCA. Leave it to these folks instead.

Because they’re going to need it….