Animal welfare organisations exist to ensure that all animals have their basic needs fulfilled and experience no unneccessary suffering. Possibly the most well known is the RSPCA, which employs over 1500 people and is funded entirely by donations. It will respond to calls from the public to investigate mistreatment of animals and in 2009 alone it rescued over 135,000 animals from lives of cruelty.
It will also - controversially, in the opinion of some - bring private prosecutions against those it believes have caused neglect.
Five-year-old Tiny was adopted from the RSPCA by Allison Evans, a mother-of-two from Devon. Allison already had two cats, and her children soon welcomed Tiny as part of the family.
Allison soon became concerned to find that Tiny had a flea allergy that made her fur fall out, and after trying everything to help her new pet, eventually returned to the RSPCA for help.
It's then that things took a turn for the worse, as the RSPCA took Allison to court for neglect!
The court heard that Tiny had been at the RSPCA centre in Devon for three years, but the charity did not mention her skin problems to Allison when she adopted her - a rather important omission, as it turned out.
Allison is no stranger to animals - as well as her two cats she also looks after horses. Finding the ordeal "devastating" and "complete nonsense", she told the court that she had no idea of Tiny's skin condition until the cat's fur began falling out.
She said that she asked the RSPCA for help but none came, and then the charity told her she was being investigated for animal cruelty.
The prosecutor for the RSPCA placed the blame squarely on Allison, irrespective of whether Tiny's medical information had been provded to her.
Magistrates saw differently, and have cleared Allison of any wrongdoing.
The RSPCA itself maintains that it was "right and proper" to prosecute Allison, but also says it is reviewing the case to see if "lessons can be learned".
However, the charity's local chairman had a different view, calling the case a "waste of funds" and apologising to Allison, saying that the RSPCA had let her down.
Most importantly of all Tiny has made a full recovery!
The full story is here.
No comments:
Post a Comment