Ira Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 A few weeks ago I was driving out to a hedge we were laying, out in the field was a fox, not bothered by us being there, on closer inspection it was injured, either shot in the back legs or hit by a car and trying to drag itself across the field with its front legs, it was a pitiful sight, Fortunately I had my 20g in the back and it was dispatched quickly and cleanly, 28g No5 on 3/4 choke. very close range. Happy that a suffering animal had been put out of its misery we got on with the hedge. a week or two later I was chatting to a bloke who flies his bird on the rabbits above the hedge. He had been there the previous weekend and the RSPCA had been out, asking him if he knew who had shot the fox and taking pictures of the carcass. As the Estate manager I have been expecting a call from them. The same day,the officer was out, a friend of mine had cause to call the RSPCA to attend an ownerless large dog that was running about on a main road in Folkestone causing havoc, she was told that they could not attend unless the dog was injured!!! Now I know that the RSPCA do some fantastic work in reducing cruelty to animals, I would hope everyone on this site would agree, however I think that the money they have, from charitable donations etc etc can be put to better use than photographing the humane dispatch of a fox on a rural estate. I would assume that witless member of the public saw the carcass and reported it! As yet I have had no phone call and neither has our well informed farm manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjimmer Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Some years ago, a local keeper was approached by an RSPCA inspector who complained that one of the pheasants was 'limping'. "I expect it's been shot". said the keeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Priceless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Forgive my ignorance but why on earth would/should the RSPCA attend a scene to take photos of a dead fox that had been killed by being shot? What has it got to do with them? Did they have permission to trespass on private land under such circumstances? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 No they wouldn't of had permission, but thats not what annoys me, its that they felt they had to be there at all and not rescuing a emaciated animal from the hands of some lowlife! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Have you contacted the RSPCA to ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 No I haven't, I thought they might contact me and I was waiting for that. I can't be doing with calling them and speaking to a jobs worth and possibly causing unnecessary attention. I hope that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10gaugewannabee Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 sorry but i am extreamy negative towards the rspca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmydean Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Leaves one wondering why they attended - the fox wasnt injured - it was dead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westley Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Maybe they got the call BEFORE the fox was dead. They do NOT rush to attend unless they think there may be some accolades to be obtained ie:- Press in attendance. I can recall the days that the R.S.P.C.A. attended all of the Game and Country fairs and did rather well in donations out of them too. Then they changed tack and became a Political Organisation, speaking out against Country Sports, probably thinking they would inherit more legacies from little old Ladies than from the Country fraternity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallshort Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 They were once a respected charity now they are nothing but a nasty pressure group. I also hear they are not very nice people to work for either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose man Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 I personally don't think the RSPCA do a fantastic job in reducing animal cruelty ...They have become a law unto themselves who are more interested in collecting money to satisfy there political aims & anti field sports agenda than doing the work the CHARITY was set up to do ..Your incident is a classic example , they would rather spend money on a malicious prosecution than on a animal in need .What did they spend last year on trying to prosecute a hunt £365,000 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 If they came out to attend an injured fox they were about a week late. Im 100% sure it was dead after my colleague shot it!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntsman Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 (edited) I am sorry if this upsets anyone but I personally consider the RSPCA to be above their charitable position,and their status as a charitable organisation is more like a profitable business, they are supposed to be there to help sick and injured animals or animals kept in terrible conditions,but of late, all I hear are the charitable society people dressed up like police, wearing body amour and trying to conduct themselves to prosecute people. going heavy handed in tandem with police officers and taken charitable monies and donations not to help or assist ,but being used to pay expensive barrister fees and legal costs. I know first hand as a good friend of mine was one of their chosen barristers and was handsomely paid by the RSPCA'S bank none other than COUTTS I was incensed to discover the amount of money used to prosecute instead of used for the intended purpose to assist sick or distressed animals A few years ago I kept working polecats as you maybe aware they are the best escape artists known to man, anyone to cut along story short one of them escaped and within walking distance,we have a local RSPCA officer living nearby,I knocked to inform her,if they hear of a ferret / polecat being found nearby It was mine and to let me know, she replied Iam not on duty and closed the door on my face. Unfortunatley since then, I do not have the time for the organisation / business and certainly would not donate or assist them in their business opportunities. Edited March 14, 2015 by huntsman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Funny I didn't somehow think they were going to be seen in the best light, but I thought I'd give it over to the forum to share some personal and first hand views. Seems to be they aren't the knights in shining armour!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loriusgarrulus Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 We rang the RSPCA from a car boot carpark in June one year. Someone had left their dog in a car with the windows only open a crack. The lady who came back to the car next door and told us the owner of the dog came at the same time as her over 2hrs ago. The dog was panting and in distress as the temperature rocketed. We rang the RSPCA and they said they didnt have anyone available. We rang the Police and they were too busy. We used a wire to open the car door and got the dog out witnessed by the next door car owner and drenched the dog in a wet towel and gave it some water to drink. The police eventually rang back and we told them it didn't matter we had broken into the car. They were there in 5 minutes. They took over the care of the dog and made notes from us and our witness. They then went looking for the owner with one of them staying with the dog who was now much better. For some reason the Police didn't want us to stay. When we left it was after 11.00 and the owner had still not been located on a hot sunny day. We never heard any more about it. The RSPCA never got back in touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markr Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 no time for the RSPCA. its all money money money trumped up jobs worths thinking they are more important than they actually are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliver90owner Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 From what I have read on another forum (from a reliable source) is that they are naughty in that urban foxes are caught and then released into the countryside. Totally illegal, of course. Always a possibility they released an urban fox which got hit and injured? So, I too have little sympathy for them in many situations. Often looking for the sympathy vote by trying to make headlines, cuts no ice with me. By all means bust someones car window if necessary (clearly wasn't in the above example), but ascertain the facts before finding the party guilty - they may have been taken ill for all we know. Likely some numpty, but get the facts first is all I say. RAB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roostshooter1 Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 I once got a caution for ptoperty damage at the truck fest show about 14 years ago when i seen a dog stuck in a hot car with no window open so i used the can of coke in my hand to smash the window and get the dog out The thing that ****** me off more was that no one said anythung to the dogs owner about leaving him in that state Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codeye Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 From what I have read on another forum (from a reliable source) is that they are naughty in that urban foxes are caught and then released into the countryside. Totally illegal, of course. Always a possibility they released an urban fox which got hit and injured? So, I too have little sympathy for them in many situations. Often looking for the sympathy vote by trying to make headlines, cuts no ice with me. By all means bust someones car window if necessary (clearly wasn't in the above example), but ascertain the facts before finding the party guilty - they may have been taken ill for all we know. Likely some numpty, but get the facts first is all I say. RABe all the facts in the world being gathered still means a dead dog without action being taken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossEM Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 As a lad about 20 years ago I was out roughshooting with a former gamekeeper. He shot a large dog fox sitting next to a hedge and when I picked it up we found it had had half of its back left leg surgically removed, with bandages still in place. The fox was shot less than 100 yards from RSPCA Blackberry Farm, Quainton. Coincidence? Unlikely. The implication being that they had completed the surgery, only to release the fox for it to die of starvation. I had a conversation with a Pest Controller who was doing a quote for my old workplace, he has been contracted the previous week to remove some foxes from a farm in Bedfordshire. He told me that he sighted five together and was able to shoot them one by one with almost no reaction, and he was certain that they were urban foxes that had been (illegally) released. I've no doubt that there is a considerable build up of anecdotal evidence of this happening, wasn't there a video in circulation at one time? I find it disturbing that their staff wear quasi-police uniforms and that they call themselves 'officers', as if they are some sort of authority. I've also no doubt that they do a lot of good work in removing domestic animals from situations of abuse and the like, but personally would never donate to any organisation that pursues private prosecutions - it's not best practice for a charity, and evidently an abuse of it's members donations / subscriptions given their less than patchy track record of securing convictions. Like the RSPB, they've made an enemy of the rural community when they could quite easily be working with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorismyhero Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I once got a caution for ptoperty damage at the truck fest show about 14 years ago when i seen a dog stuck in a hot car with no window open so i used the can of coke in my hand to smash the window and get the dog out The thing that ****** me off more was that no one said anythung to the dogs owner about leaving him in that state you shoud have refused the caution and taken the case to court...you could have won that easily even representing yourself..... the key is NECESSITY....... necessity is a defense (not a mitigation) that renders the (usually) illegal to be legal because of pressing need...i.e the "necessity" in the case of a dog in a hot car which is patently suffering the "necessity" is animal welfare. provide you can show you took "reasonable" steps to find the owner and caused the minimum damage needed to effect entry there can be no "come back" . It would be a very brave prosecutor who dared in, the face of public opinion to persue such a case.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Misguided fools! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeadWasp Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 My ex was a large animal vet from a mixed practice and she and her colleagues never had a good word to say about the RSPCA. That was despite often appearing as an expert witness in livestock cruelty cases. They like to behave like an animal police force but are just members of the public really. They have NO special powers. Since they have become a political pressure group I've lost all respect for them. Other charities like Blue Cross, the Dog's Trust etc. do the real care work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodN Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 They like to behave like an animal police force but are just members of the public really. They have NO special powers. Years ago now.... Knock at the door.... I answered and there stood a very officious "officer" in uniform. "We have had a report of a malnourished cat that you own. I would like to see your cat." Whaaaat OK... come in.... Here he is.... Ben the collie looked at the RSPCA guy very suspiciously, protecting the cat. "Oh. He looks fine" "Sure he is" I replied. "So where did this report come from." "I can't tell you that" Hmmm... Cast my mind back to the previous evening when I entertained a mate and his new girlfriend for dinner. As usual, the cat was around meooooowing at signs of food. In my usual inimitable offhand humour I remember saying "Shut up cat. You were fed last week" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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