The RSPCA has revealed it has found loving new homes for 111 pets everyday over the past decade, as it urges people to join its million-strong movement for animals to mark its 200th year.
New figures show the world’s oldest and largest animal welfare charity has found a new home for 405,839 pets in need since 2013 thanks to its network of 140 branches and 14 animal centres across England and Wales.
Also, during that time, 615,000 animals have been patients at the charity’s hospitals for anything from life-saving operations to welfare treatments – while a staggering 1.7 million vet treatments have been carried out.
The charity has also delivered one and a half million pet meals through its Pet Food Bank Partnership with more than 150 food banks and 35 RSPCA branches working together to provide pet food and essentials to those owners who are struggling amid the financial crisis.
The RSPCA is revealing these staggering achievements to mark its special 200th birthday year – and two centuries of helping all types of animals.
It shows just how far the organisation has come since 1824 when founding members met in a London coffee shop determined to improve animals’ lives, creating what became the RSPCA and sparking a movement that spread around the world.
The foundations on which the charity was born – such as life-saving frontline work, prevention and education work, and being a major campaigning voice calling for better welfare for all animals – are still as important as ever. But the cost of living crisis, the rise in industrial farming, climate change, war, loss of wildlife, and the ongoing impacts of the pandemic mean animals are currently facing some of the toughest challenges in the RSPCA’s long history.
Now the RSPCA wants to inspire the public to help them change even more lives and join its million-strong movement for animals, as the charity aims to “create a better world for every animal”.
RSPCA chief executive Chris Sherwood said: “These figures are amazing and we are so proud of our long history changing lives for animals, whether it’s through our education and prevention work, frontline rescue, rehabilitating and rehoming, or our campaigning – which has helped change more than 400 laws.
“We have sparked a global movement which has spread kindness to animals across the globe, but we are also in local communities, where our branches work tirelessly to help animals.
“This is a real moment of celebration for us but we cannot ignore the challenges ahead. With the threats of climate change, industrial farming on a huge scale, war, wildlife loss, the cost of living crisis and the legacy of the pandemic, all animals face unprecedented challenges. And we know that our futures and the futures of animals who share our world are inextricably linked.
“That is why we are launching our million-strong movement for animals in 2024, to get one million people taking action to change animals’ lives in our 200th year. There are things we can all do, big and small, to make a real difference to animals – whether it is joining a campaign, changing the way we shop, learning how to be an even better pet owner, making informed choices about the food we eat, volunteering and more. We want as many people as possible to get involved.”
Animal neglect and abandonment is sadly at a three-year high. In 2023, the RSPCA received 72,050 reports about animal abandonment and neglect – higher than in 2022, 2021 and 2020.The cost of living crisis – coupled with a surge in pet ownership during Covid-19 restrictions – has created a “perfect storm” for animal welfare, which has led to this sudden rise in abandoned and neglected pets while rehoming has slowed down.
While work on the frontline continues to be more important than ever in this milestone year, the charity is also continuing its far-reaching campaign work which has seen a number of significant law changes over its history.
The first major legislative change brought into law after being championed by the RSPCA was in 1835 with the Pease’s Act which prohibited cruelty to dogs and other domestic animals, outlawed the bloodsports of bear-baiting and cock-fighting and insisted on better standards for slaughter houses
Five years later in 1840 the charity got the royal stamp of approval when Queen Victoria gave permission for the SPCA to add Royal to the name. It also launched a team of inspectors to help animals. These rescuers pre-dated the police force and continued their rescue efforts through the First World War supporting the Army Veterinary Corps helping sick and wounded horses and the Second World War helping 256,00 animals trapped or hurt in bombing raids.
More Acts of Parliament protecting animal welfare followed and after many years of campaigning in 2006 the Animal Welfare Act was passed which actively set out to prevent unnecessary suffering and improve animal welfare by embedding five welfare needs into law.
In 2021 thanks to dedicated campaigning by the charity the UK Government passed the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill – increasing sentences for animal cruelty from six months to five years.
Vital campaigning is more important than ever, and in this the 200th year the RSPCA is continuing to call on the UK Government to deliver the promises in the dropped Kept Animals Bill, which would have improved the lives of millions of animals.
As the RSPCA celebrates its 200th birthday this year, the charity has also launched a new video showcasing a glimpse of its unique history over the past two centuries – and why they now want to create a million-strong movement to help even more animals.
To find out how you can join our million-strong movement for animals visit www.rspca.org.uk/200.
