RSPCA PROSECUTIONS:
ARE THEY AN ABUSE OF POLITICAL AND LEGAL PROCESS ?
The RSPCA is popularly regarded as a useful institution occupying the high moral ground on animal welfare issues.
It regularly issues statements which advocate for animals, it chastises cruelty, denounces live exports and fox-hunting, fund-raises through such activities as the Million Paws walks, rescues kittens from drain-pipes (preferably when a TV crew is available to document the adventure), rescues puppies and dogs from 'puppy-farmers', re-homes animals seized from 'abusive' situations, and prosecutes individuals deemed to have been cruel or neglectful towards animals in their care.
The general public learns of these activities from newspaper and TV news stories which predominantly originate from media releases put out by the RSPCA itself, although the source is not normally disclosed in the media item.
There are other accounts of the RSPCA which are not so flattering, although neither university faculty or students nor the general public is so aware of these negative assessments.
These are to be found by and large on the internet, the only media outlet that is difficult to influence by power or money alone.
It is true that strange things have happened to some internet sites critical of the RSPCA.
Keywords, for instance, have been appropriated and made to lead to sites that are completely irrelevant to whatever criticisms the original site discussed.
And web masters have found it a useful strategy to have their sites mirrored as a way to preserve them against hacking.
Some sites, such as Nigel Wellers's, can only be accessed through third parties.
Editors of sites presenting factual information about the RSPCA can find themselves sued, and like Mal Davies, fined $100,000 for circulating information which (however true) might “damage the reputation of the RSPCA”.
Facebook is a little slow to provide adequate security, although there the primary problem appears to be organised 'flaming' against critical voices.
However, generally speaking, it is on the internet that discontent with, and serious criticisms of, the RSPCA can most easily be found.
This site is being set up with the thought that it would be helpful to several learning communities that ought to know more than they do about the abuses of the legal system that are inbuilt into RSPCA procedures and day-to-day conduct.
These include law students, legal studies students and sociology students, who will find here a quantum of data that should prompt them to seriously question the real impact of all animal welfare legislation, not just locally but globally.
Also the general public, as well as those being prosecuted, or in any other way harassed by the RSPCA, will be able to access information here that will allow them to understand the bigger picture more easily than is now possible.
In particular, the way the RSPCA has been able to over-ride all criticism, and to actively influence legislation through lobbying members of parliament ought to be a major concern to all thoughtful, decent or moral individuals.
One primary charge against the RSPCA is utter hypocrisy. There are other charges which will be discussed in due course.
This site is at the moment to be regarded as 'under construction', until we can get all the relevant material uploaded, categorised and subject to appropriate commentary.
You should know that presenting this material has been driven not merely by a disinterested concern for social justice, but also by my personal prosecution by the RSPCA.
The prosecution history involved is not merely a single event, but a vendetta that has stretched over a dozen years and more. It bears a direct relationship to my unwillingness to take without protest what the RSPCA did, and is doing, to me through the courts.
This form of protesting has been chosen because I do not have the financial means to engage a lawyer willing to run the case in a way that would reveal the true nature of the social outrage being perpetrated.
It has also been chosen because years of research and teaching have given me a skills base that most people attacked by the RSPCA lack.
Most victims of the RSPCA are so devastated by what has happened to them that they are rendered completely voiceless and helpless. It therefore is a responsibility for anyone who can stand up and protest to do so.
Please feel free to get in touch with me if you can contribute in any way to the data base as I am setting it up, or if you have any useful insights that can extend the analysis that will be built into the presentation of the documents.
Since a major concern is to teach people how to interpret information presented in the popular media, many of the primary documents will be newspaper 'cuttings', but other material will also be included insofar as it has a perceived relevance to developing a grounded understanding of the cruelties and abuse of the legal system happening under our noses.
Action is called for.
While knowledge and understanding should precede action, action should follow.
What form that action should take is for the thoughtful student or citizen reading these documents to determine for themselves. But certainly you should take action, in whatever arena is open to you, in whatever way you can.
It regularly issues statements which advocate for animals, it chastises cruelty, denounces live exports and fox-hunting, fund-raises through such activities as the Million Paws walks, rescues kittens from drain-pipes (preferably when a TV crew is available to document the adventure), rescues puppies and dogs from 'puppy-farmers', re-homes animals seized from 'abusive' situations, and prosecutes individuals deemed to have been cruel or neglectful towards animals in their care.
The general public learns of these activities from newspaper and TV news stories which predominantly originate from media releases put out by the RSPCA itself, although the source is not normally disclosed in the media item.
There are other accounts of the RSPCA which are not so flattering, although neither university faculty or students nor the general public is so aware of these negative assessments.
These are to be found by and large on the internet, the only media outlet that is difficult to influence by power or money alone.
It is true that strange things have happened to some internet sites critical of the RSPCA.
Keywords, for instance, have been appropriated and made to lead to sites that are completely irrelevant to whatever criticisms the original site discussed.
And web masters have found it a useful strategy to have their sites mirrored as a way to preserve them against hacking.
Some sites, such as Nigel Wellers's, can only be accessed through third parties.
Editors of sites presenting factual information about the RSPCA can find themselves sued, and like Mal Davies, fined $100,000 for circulating information which (however true) might “damage the reputation of the RSPCA”.
Facebook is a little slow to provide adequate security, although there the primary problem appears to be organised 'flaming' against critical voices.
However, generally speaking, it is on the internet that discontent with, and serious criticisms of, the RSPCA can most easily be found.
This site is being set up with the thought that it would be helpful to several learning communities that ought to know more than they do about the abuses of the legal system that are inbuilt into RSPCA procedures and day-to-day conduct.
These include law students, legal studies students and sociology students, who will find here a quantum of data that should prompt them to seriously question the real impact of all animal welfare legislation, not just locally but globally.
Also the general public, as well as those being prosecuted, or in any other way harassed by the RSPCA, will be able to access information here that will allow them to understand the bigger picture more easily than is now possible.
In particular, the way the RSPCA has been able to over-ride all criticism, and to actively influence legislation through lobbying members of parliament ought to be a major concern to all thoughtful, decent or moral individuals.
One primary charge against the RSPCA is utter hypocrisy. There are other charges which will be discussed in due course.
This site is at the moment to be regarded as 'under construction', until we can get all the relevant material uploaded, categorised and subject to appropriate commentary.
You should know that presenting this material has been driven not merely by a disinterested concern for social justice, but also by my personal prosecution by the RSPCA.
The prosecution history involved is not merely a single event, but a vendetta that has stretched over a dozen years and more. It bears a direct relationship to my unwillingness to take without protest what the RSPCA did, and is doing, to me through the courts.
This form of protesting has been chosen because I do not have the financial means to engage a lawyer willing to run the case in a way that would reveal the true nature of the social outrage being perpetrated.
It has also been chosen because years of research and teaching have given me a skills base that most people attacked by the RSPCA lack.
Most victims of the RSPCA are so devastated by what has happened to them that they are rendered completely voiceless and helpless. It therefore is a responsibility for anyone who can stand up and protest to do so.
Please feel free to get in touch with me if you can contribute in any way to the data base as I am setting it up, or if you have any useful insights that can extend the analysis that will be built into the presentation of the documents.
Since a major concern is to teach people how to interpret information presented in the popular media, many of the primary documents will be newspaper 'cuttings', but other material will also be included insofar as it has a perceived relevance to developing a grounded understanding of the cruelties and abuse of the legal system happening under our noses.
Action is called for.
While knowledge and understanding should precede action, action should follow.
What form that action should take is for the thoughtful student or citizen reading these documents to determine for themselves. But certainly you should take action, in whatever arena is open to you, in whatever way you can.