TRUSTEES' REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2014
12
TRUSTEES' REPORT
Rescuing and rehabilitating animals
Summary of progress
In 2014 we rescued 128,209 animals. This is
an increase of three percent on 2013. Our
automated response system and Ask Annie
the Virtual Assistant system allowed us to
divert some of the less urgent matters to
our website, reducing the pressure on our
emergency phone lines and allowing our call
handlers to give priority to critical matters.
The number of complaints we dealt with
increased. The number of advice notices
dispensed also increased: people were given
time to demonstrate significant and sustained
improvement in the way they treated their
animals so that the number that had to be
taken to court decreased. This reflects the
importance of education and the preventive
message that the RSPCA has been using and
may reflect a greater understanding amongst
the animal-owning public that having an
animal is a responsibility.
What we will do in 2015
The RSPCA will continue to modernise its
systems, processes and practices and update
its technology to ensure that we continue
to upgrade the way we work to maximum
effect. We will continue to seek ways to
better manage the high volume of calls in
the summer months, when our resources are
stretched almost to breaking point.
We aim to hit our target of responding to
80 percent of emergency calls within an
Dogs Cats
Wildlife
and
others
Total 2014
Total
2013
Rescued 15,912 40,815 71,482 128,209 123,907
Released 0 693 15,923 16,616 14,237
Animals neutered 18,566 57,165 6,050 81,781 79,623
Animals microchipped 15,368 40,074 3,212 58,654 59,103
Animal treatments
(excl neutering)
Outpatients
172,334
Operations
7,359 179,693 181,678
Table 2 Summary of the number of animals the RSPCA rescued,
released, neutered, microchipped and treated in England and Wales in 2014.
hour. Our inspectorate operation is unique to the RSPCA and allows us
to focus our resources on the most desperate and abused animals which
most other charities are not geared up to help. Streamlining inspectorate
operations is one or our areas of focus in 2015 (see page 6).
Philip Toscano/RSPCA Photolibrary
Table 1 RSPCA operational statistics for England and Wales 2014
Advice and prosecution statistics England and Wales 2013-14 2014 2013
Telephone calls answered 1,299,163 1,327,849
Complaints of alleged cruelty investigated 159,831 153,770
Welfare improvement advice and notices dispensed 82,746 76,810
Cases reported to RSPCA prosecutions department 1,754 2,174
People reported to RSPCA prosecutions department 2,918 3,354
Defendants convicted (juvenile offender) 1,029 (10) 1,371 (17)
Convictions secured in the magistrates' courts 2,419 3,961