Repercussions for animal cruelty - what should they be?

[Snoof]

Well, the relatives wouldn't have a say. I think Paula's saying they're guilt tripping people. I do want euthanasia for people, but then I also expect adults to be capable of telling people to sod off when they're being pushed around. The relatives in the Netherlands don't have a legal say as long as the person dying is capable of making their own decisions (i.o.w. not a vegetable - when my brother was brain-dead as a result of a car accident, we did get to make the decision to have his organs harvested for transplantation and have the machines switched off).

BT, the thing about pure blacks makes me sad. Ninja is pure black and a rescue cat, and I didn't know how hard they are to rehome until I got to this forum. It made me even happier Matt got him, because between his behavioural issues and his colour he really didn't stand much of a chance, and he was only about a year old It would've been awful if he'd ended up spending the rest of his life at the rescue just because he's black and scared.

[Kay]

I have a real issue with the RSPCA doing anything about cruelty to animals. I have contacted them on two occassions about different cruelty cases, as I saw. The first was a breeder of Persians. She had sold a stud cat to a friend of mine and he was in an terrible state. He had cuts on him where she had caught him with clippers and the cuts had gone bad needing antibiotics, you could see all his ribs and backbone he was so underweight, he was absolutely terrified he just hid in the corner of the cat run and my friend could not handle him for weeks and he has never worked again beacause of all this. It was also known that she had sold underweight kittens saying they were younger than they actually were to try and get round this. I reported all this to the Rspca only to be told that as she had hand the cat on to someone else there was nothing they could do. I asked what about the remaining cats and kittens that she was still breeding. They asked me if I had seen them on her premises when I told them I lived 150 miles away and she wouldn't let me in anyway they said " well if she won't let you in then she won't let us in either" and that was that.
The second issue I find more disturbing. I bought a Jack Russell pup for Kyle. He looked well, nice coat, shiny eyes etc. When I got him home I bathed him because he smelt of the farm. He had a docked tail and all this straw came off the end of his tail and you could see raw flesh and the bone. I rushed him to the vets and was told that we would have to wait and see if it healed with antibiotics and if not Pepsi would have to have an op to remove somemore bone and stitch the spare skin over it. When I asked when and how this had been done, as I knew it wasn't normal after having had a docked Rotti in the past, she said it had been done within the past fortnight, making him 6 weeks old when it was done, and it had been cut with a pair of scissors. I immediately went home and called the RSPCA and told them only to be told there was nothing they could do and then they put the phone down. I no longer have anything to do with the RSPCA.

By the way Pepsi is fine now.

[Snoof]

Kay

That's awful.

[Kay]

Originally Posted by Snoof

Kay

That's awful.

I know and yet Pepsi is so trusting of people and so loyal. It is unbelievable. There were 3 other pups in the litter as well. It doesn't bear thinking about. I felt like cutting something of his off with a pair of scissors.

[Snoof]

Too right. I know it's a good thing we have the judicial system we do - theoretically speaking - but for some things a public stoning still wouldn't be enough

[DiddyDawn]

Originally Posted by Kay

I have a real issue with the RSPCA doing anything about cruelty to animals. I have contacted them on two occassions about different cruelty cases, as I saw. The first was a breeder of Persians. She had sold a stud cat to a friend of mine and he was in an terrible state. He had cuts on him where she had caught him with clippers and the cuts had gone bad needing antibiotics, you could see all his ribs and backbone he was so underweight, he was absolutely terrified he just hid in the corner of the cat run and my friend could not handle him for weeks and he has never worked again beacause of all this. It was also known that she had sold underweight kittens saying they were younger than they actually were to try and get round this. I reported all this to the Rspca only to be told that as she had hand the cat on to someone else there was nothing they could do. I asked what about the remaining cats and kittens that she was still breeding. They asked me if I had seen them on her premises when I told them I lived 150 miles away and she wouldn't let me in anyway they said " well if she won't let you in then she won't let us in either" and that was that.
The second issue I find more disturbing. I bought a Jack Russell pup for Kyle. He looked well, nice coat, shiny eyes etc. When I got him home I bathed him because he smelt of the farm. He had a docked tail and all this straw came off the end of his tail and you could see raw flesh and the bone. I rushed him to the vets and was told that we would have to wait and see if it healed with antibiotics and if not Pepsi would have to have an op to remove somemore bone and stitch the spare skin over it. When I asked when and how this had been done, as I knew it wasn't normal after having had a docked Rotti in the past, she said it had been done within the past fortnight, making him 6 weeks old when it was done, and it had been cut with a pair of scissors. I immediately went home and called the RSPCA and told them only to be told there was nothing they could do and then they put the phone down. I no longer have anything to do with the RSPCA.

By the way Pepsi is fine now.

Kay, the problem is when you phone the RSPCA you are not actually speaking to them but dealing with a firm that they hire to answer the calls. When I've reported things in the past and I've not been happy with the response, I've phoned again in the hope that I get someone a bit more "human" on the end of the phone. How long ago did you get Pepsi and is there still signs of him being cut or has the tail fully healed now?

[Rosie]

"I no longer have anything to do with the RSPCA."

You and many many other people. I think they should have done something about that fat dog on the telly the other night because in my mind this amounts to cruelty. I have know so many people try and get help from them without any success. A friend of mine phoned in a desperate state when a litter of kittens was deserted by their mother. She wanted help about what to do how to feed them etc. They didn't want to know.

[Julie84]

Oh Kay, that is awful. Glad Pepsi is okay now.

[Kim]

I always believed in euthanasia for humans until my wonderful mum was so very ill. She tragically fell down the stairs onto ceramic tiles below and suffered horrific brain damage. She never walked again and couldn't talk properly and she had brain damage. To cut a long story short we watched her deteriorate for 18 months. She developed pneumonia and we were advised to consent to drugs being withdrawn. At first we agreed, but looking into her eyes, knowing we were not allowing vital drugs to be given made us feel we were playing God with her life. We just couldn't bear to do this so we asked doctors to give her antibiotics. Sadly, she did die but at least we didn't feel responsible. Euthanasia is different if the person can agree to these decisions themselves. It is strange that I have always held strong beleifs on this, yet whern we we placed in this situation my heart ruled.

[Kay]

Originally Posted by DiddyDawn

Kay, the problem is when you phone the RSPCA you are not actually speaking to them but dealing with a firm that they hire to answer the calls. When I've reported things in the past and I've not been happy with the response, I've phoned again in the hope that I get someone a bit more "human" on the end of the phone. How long ago did you get Pepsi and is there still signs of him being cut or has the tail fully healed now?

Pepsi is now 3 years old and is completely healed. It wasn't the help line I rang but Colwyn Bay centre. Our vet gave us the direct number.