"MatSav" m a t t h e w D O T s a v a g e A T d s l D O T p i p e x D OT c o
m wrote in message ...

The Veterinary Laboratories Agency is one:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/vla/



Which is not really an animal welfare organisation as such, in the same way
as RSPCA and the smaller charities the public donate to. Its brief is more
to do with disease in farm animals, along the lines of foot & mouth. They
certainly have no interface with joe public, but link up with industry. Put
it this way - you wouldn't approach the VLA for help with vet bills... for
that low-cost neutering. Donations to Defra are our taxes ;-)


See also

http://www.direct.gov.uk/Nl1/Newsroo...870&chk=JiY6ig


Launch of a new bit of draft legislation for public consultation. Not sure
if it made the statute books or not. We do already have animal cruelty
legislation. One thing to remember about over here is that farm animals &
pets are viewed differently.

Basically in cases of animal cruelty, the law is delegated (for want of a
better word) to the RSPCA to uphold - so it's the RSPCA which bring
prosecutions against people for animal cruelty. Saying that, the RSPCA is
incredibly good at publicity raising money for its shelters and for
highlighting cases of cruelty (which is a vital part of animal welfare
education), but it can be less enthusiastic about rescue itself...

See

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=ed ponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED28%20Aug%202005% 2018%3A11%3A07%3A010


Cheers, helen s



--
MatSav