Dilema...

"Exocat" wrote in message


I volunteer/fundraise with Cats Protection and will have nothing to do
with the RSPCA. In your position I'd try to get paid work with CP or
similar with Ethical & Humane policies and spend as much time as
possible exposing the RSPCA's barbarities to the outside world, thus
hoping to attract publicity & divert funding..............etc. etc.///

Cats Protection was the charity that I was refering to when I said that
I'd be staying with a charity that agreed with my views. I don't *NEED*
to work in animal welfare as a paid job, although I'd like to. I have
many other irons in the fire, all of which I feel would suit me better.
However I thought I'd explore the option with the RSPCA as it seemed
like a good one - until I did proper research. (

The debacle over Lily should have given me the heads up. When she was
brought to the attention of the RSPCA by the vet as a cruelty case
(although found by Cats Proection), the RSPCA agreed to spend £50 on her
care. She was then collected by the RSPCA from the vet as they had
*paid* for her (even though she belonged to CP). Cardiff Cats
Protection went nuts, and eventually caught up with the inspector who
had collected her. She was handed back over to Cats Protection in a B&Q
carpark by the RSPCA after CP had threatened them with court action for
theft because all her paperwork stated she belonged to CP. Bizare, huh?
The story doesn't end there. When the CP advocate asked what was going
to happen to her, she was told that because her treatment would be so
expensive, she would probably be humanely destroyed and the treatment
she had had from the vet would have only alliviated suffering...

Needless to say, CP spent considerably more than £50 on Lily to fix her
up.

In hindsight should really have stopped thinking about a career with the
RSPCA at that point. ;o)

Helen M


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"Jo Firey" wrote in message


While I totally agree with Helen's decision, I don't find putting down
healthy animals ethically wrong./////

I have done it once - in Belize when I humanely destroyed a stray dog
who was very timid, but agressive and came onto the property. The risk
of rabies was too great because of the area I was in, to try and tame
the dog. I've also personally euthanaised 3 medically ill animals, one
of whom was put to sleep because his owners couldn't afford to pay his
bills, and I have given permission for a couple of others to be PTS,
including my own pet cat. I can recall ALL of the animals that I had a
hand in sending to Rainbow Bridge, and in all cases I feel like a lost a
little bit of my soul. Whilst I see the argument for humane distruction
of unwanted pets, I know categorically that I could never play a part in
it.

I do find it ethically wrong, however admittedly in an argument, I
couldn't give you a viable option apart from spay/neuter of pets.

There are times in real life that once a wrong turn is taken on the
wrong/right anything that follows is going to be less than optimal. Where
the only choices left are between wrong and not so wrong.

Just because it's "Not-so-wrong" it doesn't make it RIGHT.

snippage of an argument I can't counter

So while there are a lot of things I might not be able to bring myself to
do, I try not to demonize anyone whose lot and choice is to do them.///

I am not deamonising the people who do it, I'm jsut saying that I find
it ethically and morally wrong and I wouldn't be prepared to do it.

Helen M


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On Fri, 20 Jan 2006 21:32:17 +0000 (UTC), "Helen Miles"
wrote:

Thanks to everyone for the input. I had a very long conversation with
someone who knows me very well, and isn't afraid to "say it how it is".
Having talked it through with her, I don't honestly beleive that I'd be
able to look at myself in the mirror and believe I was doing a good
thing for animals by working for the RSPCA. I'm going to stick an
organisation that has the same values on the lives as animals as I do
and find another job. Thanks for helping to clarify things folks.

At the risk of sounding flaky, I think that if I did 1/2 the stuff that
I've been told I'd have to do in training, I will quite simply have sold
my soul to the devil.

Well, I didn't read the OP in time to offer advice, but I agree with
your decision. Since I've been reading this group I've had 4 cats -
two strays - Spotty and Little Bit, Rocky - feral who, after a long
time, decided to adopt me, and Sammy, Little Bit's daughter who was
born in the closet while I was looking for LB's previous owners. With
the exception of Sammy, all might have been PTS by the RSPCA, and
since LB was a skinny pregnant cat no one wanted when I let her
inside, and Sammy might never have been born. No matter how much good
the organization does in other ways, I could never put myself in the
postion where I would be required to PTS healthy animals who have made
me such loved companions.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Spot
with loving memories of Rocky (RB)

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

On Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:40:25 -0600, "CatNipped"
wrote:

Helen, I think organizations like this are necessary, and I'm *very* glad
that there are people who can do this - if it weren't for them the
overpopulation of companion animals would cause horrible consequences for
them. However, I don't think it's a good idea for you. I think it would
break your heart and be deeply disturbing for you. You *might* get to a
point where you could euthanize a healthy animal and still sleep at night,
but I don't think you'd *want* to get to that point (or at least I
wouldn't - I would feel I had lost something, some part of my soul that I
couldn't get back again).

ditto - as much as it pains me to say so, these organizations, and the
people who work there, are needed. But, as I said in my earlier post,
I could never work for such an organization. That doesn't mean I'm
condemning someone who does this work, just that I couldn't do it
myself.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Spot
with loving memories of Rocky (RB)

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

A couple of things (well more actually) wind me up about the RSPCA. A
friend of mine has just paid £65 for a cat from them, they wanted £85
for a kitten. I can see the logic of that in some ways, and they've
done a home check etc so I suppose they have to meet their overheads
(although they have a MASSIVE bank account by all accounts), but I
don't think they should charge so much to adopt an animal, £65 is a
lot of money for people on low income that could still give an animal a
good home. Another thing that annoys me is the "Royal" part of it,
when the Royals are hardly advocates for preventing "cruelty to
animals" when they are part of the hunting fraternity. The RS refuse
to come out against hunting because they get so much money for having
the "R" at the start of their name.

At the end of the day, the people that work there are mostly fine, but
the organisation itself is just like any other big corporation, their
main objective is to make money and NOT animal welfare.

People should be made more aware in this country not to take abandoned
or stray animals to the RS, they get more than any other rescue centre
because they are so well known (cheers Rolf!) - but they have more
money to advertise than a no-kill shelter. A friend of mine took a cat
to see a vet there and didn't realise how much money they would charge,
not much less than a private vet.

I took Otis to the Blue Cross when I was unemployed and they were
amazing, I actually preferred them to my private vet but can't go there
anymore as I'm working, and I think it would be morally wrong for me to
do so. They were so caring, and didn't do unneccessary procedures for
cash, but looked after him - even when they thought he was a goner
after falling off a 2nd floor balcony (some 14 years ago), they
operated on him (and neutered him for free while he was under the
knife) and nursed him back to health, even allowing me in every evening
to hand feed him as he was refusing food from them. And they work on a
"give whatever you can afford" basis but still manage to give excellent
care.

Rant over

Marcia

Helen Miles wrote:
know that during training you are required to slaughter cattle & to
euthanaise healthy cats & dogs to prove you can do it and are *up to the
task*. Killing cattle and live stock, I can deal with. Pet animals are a
whole different ball game.

Why on earth would you be required to prove you can euthanize animals if
that's not going to be your job? That's silly. I would certainly refuse
to do so.

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

Helen Miles wrote in message
news:b4cacb6debdc8c8b29508dadccf21e6b.76411@mygate .mailgate.org...
"Helen Miles" wrote in message
news:7d3d63ffd20d377e3c4a644d840788f3.76411@mygate .mailgate.org

I'm considering applying to the RSPCA to become an Inspector. However, I
have a moral dilema. The RSPCA does good work. However, having done my
research, it is also a very contraversial organisation in that it will
euthanaise healthy animals for lack of homes, (70,000+ last year) and
there have been situations where peoples pets have been euthaniased by
mistake because of RSPCA policies that are in place, as well as seizures
taking place in unwaranted circumstances.///

Thanks to everyone for the input. I had a very long conversation with
someone who knows me very well, and isn't afraid to "say it how it is".
Having talked it through with her, I don't honestly beleive that I'd be
able to look at myself in the mirror and believe I was doing a good
thing for animals by working for the RSPCA. I'm going to stick an
organisation that has the same values on the lives as animals as I do
and find another job. Thanks for helping to clarify things folks.

At the risk of sounding flaky, I think that if I did 1/2 the stuff that
I've been told I'd have to do in training, I will quite simply have sold
my soul to the devil.

Helen M


I think you've made the right decision Helen.

Love

Jeanette

"Victor Martinez" wrote in message
...
Helen Miles wrote:
know that during training you are required to slaughter cattle & to
euthanaise healthy cats & dogs to prove you can do it and are *up to the
task*. Killing cattle and live stock, I can deal with. Pet animals are a
whole different ball game.

Why on earth would you be required to prove you can euthanize animals if
that's not going to be your job? That's silly. I would certainly refuse to
do so.


But it *would* be her job.
I would like to get one thing clear. The RSPCA present themselves as animal
police, give themselves a high profile and rake money in from donations.
They are a charity, and have no more right to prosecute than I have except
via a private prosecution which is open to anyone.
They have no right at all to enter your property and decide whether you are
looking after your animals properly. You are perfectly at liberty to tell
them to "remove themselves.." I would recommend it, I have no time for them
at all. Various reasons, all bad experiences with them.

Tweed

Helen Miles wrote in message
news:1f60c222cf1b41b0aa7794a0d507b667.76411@mygate .mailgate.org...
"Exocat" wrote in message


I volunteer/fundraise with Cats Protection and will have nothing to do
with the RSPCA. In your position I'd try to get paid work with CP or
similar with Ethical & Humane policies and spend as much time as
possible exposing the RSPCA's barbarities to the outside world, thus
hoping to attract publicity & divert funding..............etc. etc.///

Cats Protection was the charity that I was refering to when I said that
I'd be staying with a charity that agreed with my views. I don't *NEED*
to work in animal welfare as a paid job, although I'd like to. I have
many other irons in the fire, all of which I feel would suit me better.
However I thought I'd explore the option with the RSPCA as it seemed
like a good one - until I did proper research. (

The debacle over Lily should have given me the heads up. When she was
brought to the attention of the RSPCA by the vet as a cruelty case
(although found by Cats Proection), the RSPCA agreed to spend £50 on her
care. She was then collected by the RSPCA from the vet as they had
*paid* for her (even though she belonged to CP). Cardiff Cats
Protection went nuts, and eventually caught up with the inspector who
had collected her. She was handed back over to Cats Protection in a B&Q
carpark by the RSPCA after CP had threatened them with court action for
theft because all her paperwork stated she belonged to CP. Bizare, huh?
The story doesn't end there. When the CP advocate asked what was going
to happen to her, she was told that because her treatment would be so
expensive, she would probably be humanely destroyed and the treatment
she had had from the vet would have only alliviated suffering...

Needless to say, CP spent considerably more than £50 on Lily to fix her
up.

In hindsight should really have stopped thinking about a career with the
RSPCA at that point. ;o)

Helen M

You're not the only one with a one eyed cat thanks to CP :-) My Cav was
already on the Preston Branch waiting list to come into our care, when he
was hit by a car. Our co-ordinator didn't even blink when the guy who was
feeding him rang to say that McCavity was seriously injured, she said he was
going to be a CP cat, and we'd foot the bill. The guy was a true gem, and
cared for Cav after surgery (Cav had been his late mother's cat). When Cav
eventually came into care, he was with us for several weeks until Ade saw
him and fell for him. If he'd been with the RSPCA, he may have been killed.

Of course, I have a particularly bitterness against the RSPCA after I
willingly spent hours and hours of my time telling them how we ran our
mobile cat neutering unit (the UK's first), only to see them on Animal
Hospital showing off THEIR unit a year later, and claiming that THAT was the
UKs first mobile neutering unit. I asked for an apology, and made a huge
stink at the time, it was grossly unfair to our volunteers. I never did get
the apology, and the BBC repeated that show many times without a correction.

Jeanette

"Victor Martinez" wrote in message


Why on earth would you be required to prove you can euthanize animals if
that's not going to be your job? That's silly. I would certainly refuse
to do so.///

They make it very, very clear in the job application documents that
euthanaisia of companion animals is a job requirement. So much so that
there are several questions on the preliminary application form about
your ethics and views on the subject

Infact, in 3 pages of job description it was mentioned at least 4 times.
(

I also know that the RSPCA routinely destroy feral and timid pet cats
without even giving them a chance to be socialised. (

Helen M


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