RSPCA Launches New Animal Welfare Inititative
Published on April 18, 2008 by Freelance Contributors · 13 CommentsThe RSPCA has today issued information on a new scheme designed to ‘reward’ councils who pioneer projects designed to assist animals.
The release reads:
Innovative councils with policies or projects aimed at helping animals could be celebrated by a new RSPCA scheme being launched this week.
The Community Animal Welfare Footprint scheme aims to highlight good practice across the full range of council responsibilities, including stray dogs, ‘status dogs’, pets in social housing and contingency planning for emergencies.
RSPCA Senior Local Government Adviser Piers Claughton said that councils and other bodies could apply for Bronze, Silver or Gold Footprints across four categories, and could also earn a special award for Innovation.
“When it comes to animal welfare, councils are often criticised but seldom rewarded, so we’re trying to redress the balance,” said Piers. “Dogs being used as weapons on housing estates, stray dogs roaming the streets, houses packed to the rafters with unkept cats – these are all headlines we’ve seen which may reflect badly on councils.
“Because of their wide remit, councils can impact on animals in a large number of ways, but until now there hasn’t been much guidance as to what they should do, and how they should do it. Through this scheme, the RSPCA is aiming to celebrate those councils that are doing things well, and maybe offer ideas to those who are looking for advice.”
The categories for which councils and housing providers can qualify for Footprints are:
· Stray Dogs – Up to 2006, local authorities dealt with around 65,000 stray dogs a year, and this is due to increase following the recent hand-over of out-of-hours responsibility from the police. A Bronze level Footprint will be given to councils with basic policies including scanning for microchips and basic dog handling training for officers. A Gold Footprint would require councils to microchip all stray dogs.
· Housing – A poor housing policy can lead to problems such as fouling, straying and the anti-social use of dogs. Bronze level would require written guidelines to ensure that pets can be looked after healthily and without causing a nuisance for neighbours. Gold level would include discounted neutering schemes to prevent unwanted breeding.
· Contingency Planning – Recent incidents, such as flooding, have shown that people may risk themselves if their pets are not cared for. A Bronze Footprint will go to councils with temporary animal shelters and a pet evacuation plan, while Gold would include a proactive campaign to ensure pet owners knew what to do in case of emergency.
· Animal Welfare Principles – Bronze would require a general animal welfare policy based on the Animal Welfare Act 2006, while Silver and Gold would require the promotion of wider animal welfare issues such as fireworks and dogs dying in hot cars, through to a council policy on only using higher-welfare meat and eggs.
In addition to these standards, councils can apply for one of three annual Innovator in Animal Welfare Awards, which will reward an initiative or project which takes an innovative approach to dealing with an animal welfare issue. The awards will be judged in three categories: local authorities in Wales; unitary and county councils in England; and district and borough councils in England.
The scheme is part of the RSPCA’s Animal Welfare Footprint, which allows people to measure the impact they personally have on animals, from the type of meat they eat to whether or not they buy fur.
The closing date for entries is 18 July 2008. For more information, see www.rspca.org.uk/cawf
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Has the RSPCA ever heard of an organisation called the National Dog Warden Association? They published an article about Contingency Planning for councils that was published on its website a couple of years ago!
An extract from the NDWA article is reproduced below:
‘An inter-agency approach involving the Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Service, RSPCA and the Council both yours and County if necessary would help set up a protocol in regard to dealing with animals in a disaster/emergency situation. Who has not as an Animal/Dog Warden had to get a dog out of a house to enable the emergency services to get in? This in itself is an example of inter-agency working to deal with animals in an emergency situation albeit on a totally localised scale.’
Yet again an influential organisation comes up with an idea that has already been discussed and published a couple of years earlier!
As for the RSPCA getting involved with local councils, I wonder if they went through the Local Government Association out of courtesy to ask whether what they have launched is okay? Perhaps the RSPCA has never heard of them either?
If the RSPCA have not approached the head organisation that represents all the councils in the UK in regard to this initiative, then it is completly arrogant of the RSPCA to ignore the LGA? There is no mention of any partnership approach with the LGA in the article?
What number of dog control staff working for councils do not have any training in dog handling? Can the RSPCA supply this information as it already seems to know everything else and further states:
‘Stray Dogs – Up to 2006, local authorities dealt with around 65,000 stray dogs a year, and this is due to increase following the recent hand-over of out-of-hours responsibility from the police.’
If any councils are letting their staff handle dogs without any training or previous experience then surely this is a lack of care from the council towards its own employees and should be investigated by the Health & Safety Executive or the councils own health and safety department?
The main ploy here however is that to get a ‘gold star’ a council would have to microchip all the stray dogs it seizes that are not reclaimed by their owners. This neatly falls into line with the RSPCA’s cherished wish for compulsory registration as all those dogs that are sent for rehoming (not just to RSPCA Centres) will then be ‘compulsory’ microchipped and when passed on to new owners, will therefore be already ‘registered’for inclusion onto any compulsory scheme.
Will the RSPCA enforce any ‘unlicensed dogs’ in any future dog registration era? I think they will prepare the ground then leave it as a legal requirement for councils to deal with?
Work with the people on the ground RSPCA rather than muscling in because your really rich and therefore must know what your talking about.
Councils do not need to have ‘bronze’or ‘gold’ awards to recognise the hard work they do, they need somebody to fight their corner against the government to get better resources and respect for the work they are already doing.
The rspca are trying to control and influece in every area of animal welfare and as we all know only too well a Jack of all trades is unacceptable in animal husbandry. They just have no idea in many areas concerning animal welfare and just bluster in flexing their animal rights power to a weak clueless Government. Animal Welfare has taken a step backwards since the introduction of the rspca`s animal welfare act. There are more abandoned animals and the rspca had not considered any provision for steps to be taken to cover the new stray dog legislation introduced on April 6th 2008.
I think the serious question needs to be asked ” What has happened to the rspca ? “.
Thomas,
They seem to be positioning themselves to be seen as the number one animal welfare charity in the UK. The inspectors are let down by the desk wallahs behind the schemes who come up with ideas that have already been aired by other groups. Is that a good use of resources or a total lack of originality?
Your correct about what has happened to the RSPCA, there is a lot of negative publicity out there about them at the moment.
RSPCA Senior Local Government Adviser Piers Claughton said that councils and other bodies could apply for Bronze, Silver or Gold Footprints across four categories, and could also earn a special award for Innovation.
“When it comes to animal welfare, councils are often criticised but seldom rewarded, so we’re trying to redress the balance,” said Piers. “Dogs being used as weapons on housing estates, stray dogs roaming the streets, houses packed to the rafters with unkept cats – these are all headlines we’ve seen which may reflect badly on councils.
I think it is probably time that Mr Claughton returned to politics and lobbying instead of making the RSPCA a local authority watchdog. Of the three examples he provides that “may reflect badly on councils” only one is the sole responsibility of councils.
“Dogs used as weapons” must be in the posession of a person (so are not stray) and must have been used in a manner which indicates public order offences (or else anyone standing around with a big dog would be guilty of standing around with a “weapon”). Public order and assault are POLICE matters not local authority matters as local authority officers have no powers in respect of these offences.
“Stray dogs” – yes; totaly! Local authorities now thanks to the likes of the RSPCA supporting the police and pushing for it have sole responsibility for stary dogs and the most appalling guidance with which to apply it.
“Houses packed to the rafters with unkept cats”; interseting one this, you would once have thought that the RSPCA was the body to call about animal welfare matters like this. Just think how often you see those short films on television with heroic RSPCA inspectors and the police removing dog after dog and cat after cat from such “houses”. But of course the RSPCA managed to get another piece of legisaltion past this government the Animal Welfare Act in which local authorities become the ‘inspectorate’ for some animal welfare matters and that makes it easy for the RSPCA in the persona of Mr Claughton to deflect attention onto local authorities (who recieved no extra funding to carry out this work). But who does this ‘house’ belong to who is reporting the problem and who are they reporting it to? I think that unless the RSPCA want to announce that they are transfering all responsibility for animal welfare infringements to local authorities they should be aware that the public will call them and not the local authority on thse matters – or perhaps Mr Claughton would like to clarify for the public what the local authority and the RSPCA do, or does he just want to tell local authorities?
Good explanation C Jackson.
It does seem confusing that the RSPCA is becoming over involved in local council matters and you are correct when you write that on telly the adverts seem to show the RSPCA doing everything including stray dogs?
Surely the bronze, silver gold has been ‘borrowed’ from the Kennel Club Good Dog Citizen Tests? Also, has the ‘initiative award’ not been borrowed from that too? I think there is a special category for groups and organisations that the Kennel Club gives out?
The dogs as weapons and cat hoarding is not a council issue, it shows yet again that these political lobbyist people go from organisation to organisation ‘selling’ a product, it does not necessarily have to be animal welfare, the target product can be anything. Whatever it is, the political people do not (as is clearly shown in the article above) have to know anything about what they are talking about?
In a nutshell, the above initiative has had influence from:
Dissater Planning – Dog Warden Association
Bronze, Silver Gold – Kennel Club dog citizen
There is plenty of guidance (however atrocious), just not enough money and resources from the government to help councils.
The housing issues involves human rights as well as animal rights, presumably Mr Claughton and colleagues do not live in ‘council houses’, why should animal ownership be restricted because a person is a council tenant? Are council tenants any more or less responsible/irresponsible than people who have mortgages or rent in private accommodation?
As a person who used to live in a council house (possibly like millions of people may have over the years at some stage in their lives) I am a dog owner so why do I need to be treated differently just because at the time I did not own my own house?
Very patronising behaviour from the RSPCA, if they bothered to check, they would probably be amazed to discover that council housing departments do deal with problems caused by animals at tenant’s houses in the same way that the environmental health deals with problems caused by animals in non-council houses. As landlords the councils have a duty to resolve the problem, like all landlords, no special treatment because they are dealing with council house occupants, just following the ‘guidance’ of which there is not much according to Mr Claughton?
This is something else that the RSPCA is highlighting that is already dealt with, what a waste of time and effort on the part of the RSPCA!
Perhaps it is time that Mr Claughton the Local Government Advisor returned to politics and kept out of interfering with animal related matters at local council level which he does not seem to know much about?
The only bits missing now after your comments (Ordinary dog owner) are that the Good Dog Campaign have been giving local authority dog warden services awards for years.
All of which makes me wonder if Mr Claughton is only good for borrowing ideas from others?
A couple of years ago the local authorities were expected to respond to one stray dog survey (from the Dogs Trust which they took directly from the original introduced by the NDWA 1993 – 2003).
Last year and this Mr Claughton sent his own RSPCA Stray Dog Survey to all local authorities making the demand under a Freedom of Information Act request (was the one provided by the Dogs Trust not good enough for the RSPCA?).
It seems that the charities are keen to have the local authorities answerable to them; but they don’t appear so keen to work together!
I wonder how much this costs in public donations which could be spent on the animals but they choose to transfers to unco-ordinated paper exercises.
Incidentally – the NDWA has been calling on DEFRA to collate and publish stray dog statistics (as it does other statistics) in a format that would make it unecessary for the charities to spend money on pestering local authorities but from which they could gather information with which to direct their services (which is the Dogs Trust’s given reason for their pollster administered survey which eventually replaced that provided by volunteers and free by the NDWA.
Apart from wasting money, what do all these seperate polls achieve? As you write, the information is the same so why cannot thease organisations work together!
Waste of time and effort, your call that the information should be collected by the government is a great idea, wonder why they do not already do that now?
Ordinary Dog Owner. I’m sorry but you have it all wrong. That sort of thinking is not acceptable. Statistics are everything and the more statistics compiled by different offices and organisations the better. Government is solely concerned with this now, it is no longer about ‘dealing with crime’ but solely about ‘dealing with the perception of crime’! (Etc..) Statistics are wonderful things, you can make them do whatever you want, unlike facts. Facts are too difficult to deal with.
The big, wealthy Charities work and think like Government. That is why they get on so well together.
· Housing – A poor housing policy can lead to problems such as fouling, straying and the anti-social use of dogs. Bronze level would require written guidelines to ensure that pets can be looked after healthily and without causing a nuisance for neighbours. Gold level would include discounted neutering schemes to prevent unwanted breeding.
I think Mr Claughton also needs to research Local Authority Housing. More and more ‘Council Housing’ is nothing to do with the Local Authority. A vast majority of it has been privatised and is now run by Co-operatives and other organisations for ‘Social Housing’ which has nothing to do with the Local Authority.
Hi Ex Plod
What have I got all wrong?
Hi ODO
My Comment I think ;o)
Guess I failed. It was sarcasm tinged with a slight touch of pathos.
Oh well back to the drawing board.
Hi Ex plod
Sorry I get it now!
Such humour is wasted on a numpty like me, I never real get the humour and comedy from Oscar Wilde.
I blame the government for not providing enough stand up comedians in school!
Where is any response from Mr Claughton or the RSPCA.
They send out press releases about how they are going to sort out councils but do not reply to any of these public comments.
Is the RSPCA becoming out of touch?