Category: Animal law

U.K. cats always lose out at any mention of legal status.

Because lost and stray cats do not pose a public safety risk.

Following the death of her microchipped cat Gizmo in a road accident, whose body was later disposed of by a veterinary surgeon without scanning, the owner began a petition to make it a legal requirement for dead cats to be scanned.

The petition, named Gizmo’s legacy, highlighted the fact that thousands of dead cats are not scanned therefore negating any chance of their fate being made known to grieving owners, many of who search for months or years trying to discover what happened to them. The petition called for a change in the law making it a legal requirement for local authorities and other agencies to scan any dead cats they collected or which were brought to them.

Cats always miss out.

The petition gained over 100,000 signatures and was debated in the UK parliament in 2019. Unfortunately the government did not agree, which is not unusual as it appears they do not rate cats very highly. Time and again whenever laws are considered to control or protect animals it is the cat that always misses out with preference always given to the control and welfare of dogs or livestock.

The government responded that it was unnecessary because local authorities, veterinary practices and rehoming centres are encouraged to do it anyway and they already have scanners because the law requires dogs to be microchipped and scanned. They pointed out that this is done to enable stray dogs to be quickly reunited with owners, but obviously do not feel that cat owners should have the same right. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA):

Whilst microchipping cats is good for their welfare, and it is important to publicise those benefits, lost and stray cats do not pose the same public safety risk as dogs, and therefore making cat microchipping compulsory is not considered necessary at this time. We will continue to work, therefore, with the relevant stakeholders to stress the importance of cat microchipping, and the scanning of stray or lost pets.

The reference to not posing a risk of public safety stems back to the Animals Act 1971 which made owners of livestock and dogs liable for any nuisance or damage but exempted cats allowing cats the freedom to roam. DEFRA also mistakenly pointed out that cats involved in road accidents had to be reported under the driver Highway Code Rule 26 which states drivers must report such incidents involving “animals,” but section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 legally defines animals as livestock, horses and dogs. Cats again miss out.

Number wise cats are just as popular companion pets as dogs and loved just as much by their owners and their deaths grieved just the same so it only seems fair that they should be afforded the same chances of being reunited or to have their owners informed of their deaths to relieve the heartache of their loss. Perhaps it is time for the UK government’s attitude towards cats to change.

Related articles:

A case for equal rights for cats.
We need a UK Cat Act
The right to roam, cats cannot trespass

Love them or hate them we need the RSPCA

RSPCA should aim to go back to basics.

The RSPCA are in the process of closing some of their animal shelters, hospitals and clinics and allegedly making at least ten percent of their administration and front line staff redundant according to Society statements and media reports. This has obviously caused alarm and distress to their staff and several Change.org petitions have been started which are already attracting many signatures. It could be viewed as a knee jerk reaction to the present financial climate caused by the pandemic, but it could be just an opportune time to restructure the charity once again.

We seem to have a love hate relationship with the RSPCA, as many do with the Police, and there will always be sections of society and organisations happy to criticise and who want to reign them in but in the interests of all the abused animals of England and Wales we cannot do without them. This is because they are the only agency or charity actively trying to prevent abuse before it happens and taking 0ver 90% of all animal cruelty prosecutions.

RSPCA have always been evolving and restructuring

The RSPCA throughout its history, and particularly in the last fifty years, has always adapted to changing society needs, circumstances and attitudes whether financial or not. I have been involved with the Society on and off since 1970 and have seen it all before. Back then there was only one hospital and that was a converted house, the only animal shelters within striking distance of London were the Mayhew Home and Southall cattery.

At the end of the sixties the Society still owned hundreds of houses in which their inspectors lived, answered their own phones, organised there own day, were part of the community, had kennels and cages in the back garden to temporarily hold animals and were virtually on 24 hour call. Then to meet financial and changing society needs they were all sold, call centres were introduced and the inspectorate was regionalised.

Throughout the seventies they closed dozens of “one man clinics” in the poorer areas of London like the east end, south and north London or like the Mayhew Home transferred them to other charities. They closed their central night emergency service to much outcry that had provided vital rescue and treatment services during the city’s impoverished decades. Even their grand headquarters building in Jermyn Street was closed, sold and demolished when the Society relocated to the countryside.

In the next few decades they continued to adapt their services introducing animal collection drivers and animal welfare officers to take some of the workload off inspectors. The Society and its Branch animal shelters took fewer unwanted pets from owners and concentrated on homing those animals seized or collected by their staff. The Society has always changed to meet present demands.

The RSPCA sometimes loses sight of its roots

Along the way no doubt the Society has made mistakes particularly when they have lost sight of their roots and core objectives and insisted on establishing a department for everything connected with animal welfare rather than concentrating on what they do best. It seems they are beginning to realise this and are leaving certain aspects to the dozens of other charities who carry out similar work such as the Cats Protection and Dogs Trust who rehome animals and those that treat animals of the poor like the PDSA and Blue Cross. The RSPCA fulfills a unique and important role that no other charity dares to get involved in and that is protecting and preventing animals from ill-treatment and they must concentrate on this.

It is always terrible for people to lose their livelihood and the work they thoroughly enjoy and believe in but unfortunately times and circumstances change. But hopefully the Society will in the future avoid decreasing their front line activities as without adequate services more animals will undoubtedly suffer. They have always managed to survive controversy, criticism, upturns and downturns and they hopefully they will continue to do so because there are so many animals out there that depend on them.

Related Articles:

Memories of the RSPCA London Night Emergency Service 1936-76.
Proactive Animal Charities Under Attack.
Paranoia over RSPCA powers.