Blogger Ashley, of March, talks about what is wrong with the RSPCA

Ashley Smith talks about what is wrong with the RSPCA (Image: Archant)

Ashley, 43, who works at Tesco, said he began writing after he felt: “life was passing me by completely, and all I was looking for was a place to air my views, where they would be read and considered.”

This week he talks about his problem with the RSPCA.

Around 12 years ago I was photographed by The Cambs Times handing a letter in to the office of Malcolm Moss who was then our local MP.

I wanted to run the London Marathon twice in one day to publicise my idea of starting a national petition to turn the RSPCA from a charity to a Government funded organization, as I could see what direction it was headed, it was killing too many animals and saving too few.

Ashley Smith blogs (Image: Archant)

The answer from The RSPCA was no - I was quietly told they did not want to concede their tax-free charity status.

Fast forward to September 2015, my fears were realised.

There was an article about the ‘rescue’ of fourteen horses, that had been “found in an appalling conditions, but were bright, alert and responsive” after a veterinarian examination, but some were suffering from rain scald and overgrown hooves.

Twelve were killed by an RSPCA approved marksman.

They decided it would be more cost effective and charitable to have the horses checked out and then killed.

They then claimed more than £200,000 in vets and stabling fees.

Whilst prosecuting the former owner of the horses, RSPCA inspectors stood up in court to list various costs for rescuing and stabling the already dead horses.

Let us not forget the name of this outdated charity.

The name is The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the names bears the royal seal of approval, so, in essence the Queen should be aware of how this organization is run and should be forefront in the care and respect it delivers.

In all my years I have not heard once, in any speech by Her Majesty, about the plight of animal cruelty in Britain.

It’s getting worse by the day. Even her own Society is failing these innocent lives and our Prime Ministers and politicians have been guilty of turning their backs, closing their blind eyes, and unforgivably, ignoring such a distressing and upsetting issue.

The RSPCA has become a charity consumed by greed, not welfare, and for this, they should be re branded or disbanded.

It should be replaced by the American model of the ASPCA that actually cares about animal lives.

They do everything themselves, from the raids to the investigation, from the prosecution to the re-homing of almost all of their rescued victims.

That should be the model we follow, but it seems our royal family and government ministers do not care.

It is time for the RSPCA to be deemed unfit for purpose and suitable actions taken to replace this tarnished venture with a vibrant new organization that will do exactly what it promises.

A number of years ago I thought as an animal lover and pet carer that I could apply for a job as a trainee RSPCA inspector, only to be told that part of the training entailed putting at least seven healthy animals to sleep.

I was horrified and realised it was not the path for me, or any like minded, caring human being.

From that moment, about 10 years ago, I felt the same thing that many people had felt - I fell out of love with The RSPCA.

I took off the rose-tinted glasses.

There should be pressure put on the government to hold a public inquiry into the day to day running of the RSPCA and moves made to quantify the feasibility of it carrying on or being replaced.