# SSPCA - a rant



## iiisecondcreep (Oct 29, 2007)

For those who don't know, the SSPCA are more or less the Scottish equivelent of the RSPCA.

A few months ago I found myself in a position where I needed to report someone for neglect. It wasn't a decision I took lightly and the person is now going through a difficult divorce which i believed was the reason for this situation arising, although on discussing the matter with some mutual and equally concerned friends I discovered that this would not be the first time this person had been reported. 

The animals in question are a rabbit, dogs and horses. 

The rabbit had not been cleaned out in over a year, its bed was 6-7" deep of damp, poo filled filthy shavings. To be honest, I hadn't previously paid much attention to the rabbit until the bad winter there when I started giving it the occasional carrot as a treat, it was then I noticed how bad the bed was and realised that in the year I'd known them I had never seen it with clean shavings. I also noticed that it never had fresh water (often no water at all) and that over winter its water was frozen every day and never changed, that the only food it was given was hard horse feed and that the claws on its back feet were about 1" long. Its hutch is in a dark outdoor shed and never let out. 

The dogs are kennelled. There are maybe ten dogs all together, they are pedigree dogs that are used for breeding but not shown and the pups are sold without papers. All of the dogs are kept seperately (except 4 which are kept in 2 pairs) in concrete walled pens. Even the doors on the pens are solid wood and about 4' high so they can't see out unless they jump up on the door (and some aren't tall enough to see over the door). Some of them get let out occasionally, but most don't. They have no proper beds, no toys, no treats, they don't get fresh water every day and have at times been left with no water at all for at least 2 days, they have very little human contact (only when they are being fed) and no contact with other dogs except for breeding. 
In addition, at times over winter the dogs were left up to a month without being cleaned out, the smell was horrendous and there was unbelievable amounts of mould all over the dog poo. Sometimes the roofs would leak and the pens would just be left with all the bedding completely sodden for days. Some of the dogs are long haired and had huge matts in their coats.
Its so sad, they really are some of the friendliest dogs I have ever met. 

The horses, similarish to the other animals. Living in 24/7 and not being cleaned out very often, being left without water, being underfed. There was one horse there (admittedly, not belonging to the person being reported, however they did nothing to stop it), which was put in a stable with no bedding and left for around 5 weeks without being cleaned out.

Anyway, I contacted the SSPCA and elected to remain anonymous. 
It was almost 3 weeks before they contacted the person, which was done via mobile phone. I never gave the sspca a contact number for this person.

A mutual friend was present when this happened and told me what was said. The SSPCA told the person the full extent of the complaint that had been made, and arranged a date with the person to carry out the inspection which was a further 2 weeks. Of course, for this all animals had been cleaned out, fresh bedding/food/water.

I tried to make a formal complaint, but as I had remained anonymous I couldn't. As I knew what had happened I tried to ask if this was normal procedure for the SSPCA, but the person on the phone refused to comment and would only respond with 'I don't know because I'm not an inspector'.


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## adamntitch (Jun 17, 2007)

alot of the time now adays they give the owners so many days to sort it out before takeing it futher not right in my eyes but thats the way they work


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## Jamiioo (May 8, 2010)

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

adamntitch said:


> alot of the time now adays they give the owners so many days to sort it out before takeing it futher not right in my eyes but thats the way they work


That is such sh*t isn't it?

I mean they give enough notice for everything to be put right and then inspect and go away - it should be obvious to them that no-one in their right mind wouldn't sort it out to avoid prosecution.

What they should do is just turn up one day and inspect, then they'd see the truth of was goes on!!! :bash:

Alternatively give the notice and let the owners change everything, but warn them that they will be back some time in the next 6 months to do a further inspection and leave it for a good few months, so if the animals are taken care of properly the owners will slip back into their old ways and then they can do something about it! :bash:

OP I feel so sorry for you that you'd tried to put things right and technically haven't made a difference at all by the sound of things.


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## Jamiioo (May 8, 2010)

I would say try and take a few sneaky snaps if possible so if they revert back to their old ways then they cant hide anything really


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## FreddiesMum (Jan 10, 2007)

The SSPCA/RSPCA in my opinion are as much use as a chocolate fireguard.They give people warning that they are going to be inspected what a load of turd. OP :notworthy: to you for helping the poor animals.


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## yugimon121 (Oct 4, 2009)

FreddiesMum said:


> The SSPCA/RSPCA in my opinion are as much use as a chocolate fireguard.They give people warning that they are going to be inspected what a load of turd. OP :notworthy: to you for helping the poor animals.


I second this. Its complete crap! they should just show up and arrest them!


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## giant snail (Oct 25, 2009)

i know how you feel iv reported someone with horses to RSPCA took them a week 2 turn up. then when i was up there 4 weeks later they finally came and took the horse away ( they didnt know it was me who contacted them) but i happily helped the mini into the horse box!

feet where about 6 inches too long started to curl up. owner was lazy came up once a day gave him 6 wedges of hay ( about half a small bale) and 1 bucket of hard feed full of sugar beat fit for a race horse.
he is a 34 inch miniature. often never had water as only filled up a bucket for him. no one else on the yard did anything. i ended up taking food away from him he was so fat he walked funny and didnt have lami ( before the feet where long) he had major COPD caused by her shutting him in a 'trailor diver spaced' stable so it was easier to take the muck out rahter then walking around the feild. then she would put a saddle on it and take it and her grand daughter out every few months! 
he must have been about 50 - 75kg over weight he had more food in 1 day then my 15hh mare and mini stallion get in 2 days!

she never turned up to court and he is now rehomed ( aparently looking much thiner)


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

My friend had to sheep which she kept in a field. In that field there were 4 horses which were being badly neglected. She phone the RSPCA and they came out and said they were OK. She called them out again when the horses were even worse and they came out - took 2 away to be destroyed, but said the other 2 weren't bad enough yet!!! :bash:

She called them out again a few months later and they came and took the other 2 away to be destroyed. Now where was the logic in that?

Do they not know that the are the Royal Society for the* Prevention of Cruelty *to animals, not the "sit on their backsides doing nothing until the animals have been so badly treated that they have to be destroyed! :bash


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## OrigamiB (Feb 19, 2008)

Unfortunately(or luckily depending on your opinion of the RSPCA) the RSPCA/SSPCA have no powers to force there way into someones home, or arrest them. So there really is nothing they can do about situations like this


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

yugimon121 said:


> I second this. Its complete crap! they should just show up and arrest them!


Do we really want to give them so much power that the people fighting for us to keep our herps are doing so in vain to save our hobby? 
I can understand some one being in loads of trouble for not taking care of their animals but i don't want the RSPCA a charity going around arresting people. That's a job for the police.The
Situation obviously isn't good and every effort to correct the situation is important, that also means educating the owner.


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## Jamiioo (May 8, 2010)

I was under the impression that if the rspca came across a dog being badly treated or neglected and had evidence to support it then they had the right to remove the animals from the premises? 

:/


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

I believe it's only if you give consent for them to take it, otherwise they have to attend with the police.


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## iiisecondcreep (Oct 29, 2007)

Well the SSPCA were called again last week by someone who came to view the property (its for sale), mainly about some horses being in bad condition.

I was actually there when the inspector came but no one else was around. All she did was leave a card to say to call her. She had to walk past the 2 horses the complaint was made about, she was actually in the barn where the dogs were kept. Had she looked in at the dogs as she walked past them she'd have seen that at least one of them had no water at all.

The horses complained about have since been moved to a field at the back where they won't be seen and other horses in better condition have been put in their field.


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