As well as being the world's leading animal welfare organisation, the RSPCA is a powerful
campaigner. We don't just pick up the pieces when things go wrong for animals - we
campaign to change laws and attitudes so that animals get a better deal. We lobby politicians
and decision-makers, businesses and people who work with and own animals. More than
100,000 people have now signed up to our campaign network because like us, they want to
make a difference for animals. In 2014 we campaigned on many fronts, as always, to protect
pets and wildlife, animals used in entertainment, farm animals and animals used in research.
New laws for dogs in Wales
Great news for dogs came from Wales when the Welsh
Government passed new laws that will see tighter
controls on puppy breeders from spring 2015. Although
we are concerned the rules don't go far enough, we hope
they will finally get rid of puppy farms in Wales.
Puppy trade
Cruel puppy farming and trafficking are rife, and we
continued our call for more stringent laws and
enforcement. Puppy trading is big business with dealers
making huge profits at the expense of the welfare of
both puppies and their parents who are used as breeding
machines in the UK and other EU countries. Puppy
traders don't care if puppies live or die as long as they
make a profit, so to help buyers avoid unscrupulous
breeders the RSPCA in partnership with the BVA Animal
Welfare Foundation launched the Puppy Contract.
puppycontract.rspca.org.uk
Irresponsible dog ownership
The UK Government announced a package of measures
to tackle irresponsible dog ownership, proposing
compulsory microchipping in England for all dogs as
one measure. On one level this is good news, as chips
can reunite dogs with their owners, but it won't stop
irresponsible dog ownership on its own. For compulsory
microchipping to be effective, we've lobbied for tighter
regulations that make chipping legal proof of ownership
and carry effective penalties. Wales is expected to
introduce similar mandatory microchipping laws in 2016.
www.rspca.org.uk/compulsorymicrochipping
Helping horses
In January, following the publication of a key RSPCA
report on equine welfare, the Welsh Government
brought in a landmark piece of legislation in the form
of the Control of Horses (Wales) Act 2014. The new law
equips local councils with powers to tackle fly grazing
www.rspca.org.uk/campaigns
PAGE THIRTEEN
RSPCA
supporters took
more than
134,000 actions for
animals in 2014
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO ANNUAL REVIEW 2014
a voice in 2014
giving animals
and abandoned horses on private and public land.
In England a Private Members Bill on the control of
horses was introduced - it became law in 2015.
www.politicalanimal.org.uk/wales/equines
www.politicalanimal.org.uk/england/horses
Combating the cull
The UK Government's pilot badger culls in England in
2013 failed to meet their goals. We continued to fight
for badgers and rally public support against this
misguided policy throughout 2014, in the face of
news that the second year of the cull was to begin.
A Commons debate was won 219-1, resulting in a
U-turn from the Government which agreed to scrap
10 additional culls, although it did go ahead with year
two of the pilot culls in Gloucester and Somerset.
No badger culling is happening in Wales, as the Welsh
Government continues with its badger vaccination
programme and tighter cattle controls.
www.rspca.org.uk/stopthecull
Tackling the cat crisis
With the UK's cat population reaching crisis point our
centres are full and we've had to rely heavily on private
boarding establishments to house many of the cats
in our care - a very costly solution. Our research
shows that one of the main barriers to neutering is
the misbelief that cats should have a litter of kittens
before being neutered. In 2014 we campaigned and
worked with vets to dispel the myth and encourage
owners to neuter their cats at four months old. We've
produced new materials focusing on the benefits to
cats of timely neutering and we've delivered subsidised
neutering for cats in areas where cat owners may not be
registered with vets.
www.rspca.org.uk/catneutering