• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Never going back to RSPCA waste of time

madcatwoman

Mama Doe
We saw a boy bunny on our local rspca site. All it said was male neutered, nothing else, couldnt get them on the phone so saw that the enquiries was 10am on Saturdays so me and the kids went, only to be told we couldnt view or talk to anyone till 11am, so we went back for 11 along with the application form and id.

At 11 we were told that they were skeleton staff on weekends and they hadnt time for me! I asked the 'rabbit man' if he could tell me how big one particular bun was and if he was young or old. He made size actions with his hands and said adult. I suggested maybe the size of a german lop, erm maybe not sure was the reply. so asked about another that i had seen asking him how big, how old. Oh yes that one he said, erm hes very clean. Right but how big, erm well, more hand actions, erm he might be a bit smaller than the other one but I cant show you, have a home check then come and look then if you see one then come back with your girl then if they get on ok then come back again and collect him. At this point we walked out! do they want to rehome bunnies or not. Our original 2 were from the and they were great then but I can say I shall never go back again.

So we rang a local rescue, Sues rabbit rescue, they were available for us to view today, we went we fell in love and we reserved a boy, our 3rd bunnie from them. In future I will just go there.

I really do appreciate that the rspca are busy but had they said at 10 that they were understaffed on a weekend when most people go then i could have gone tomorrow but as the conversation 'progressed' with the village idiot it became clear that cos it was only a bunny they werent interested.
 
Oh dear, what a shame you had a bad experience there. But glad you have found another rabbit from a different rescue. Hope it all works out! :thumb:
 
I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but I just wanted to say that please don't tarnish the whole RSPCA with the same brush. Likely the place you visited was an independent Branch and whilst it has the RSPCA name, is almost like a 'Franchise'. All other RSPCAs will be different and some better than others, with some Branches, some staff and some volunteers working their socks off for bunnies and whatever other animals they come into contact with.

All that said, Good Luck with your new addition :D I hope he makes your poor, grieving bunny happy.
 
I would write a letter to the branch manager, let them know what's going on. Maybe it was just a bad weekend but if it's a regularly poor service they need to change things.
 
I would write a letter to the branch manager, let them know what's going on. Maybe it was just a bad weekend but if it's a regularly poor service they need to change things.

I completely agree with this, and, if you feel the Branch Manager is not taking you seriously, or not replying sufficiently, then you can write 'above them' to the Committee/Trustees.
 
Didnt realise they franchised, funnily enough the centre i visited isnt on the rspca pet search so maybe its franchised. The attitude was terrible, all i wanted was 2 questions answering by someone with knowledge of the animal, its a poor do when the rabbit staff dont know their rabbits! makes you wonder about the care of the rabbits in their care. the receptionist said she hadnt been up there for months and had no idea what they had.
 
Didnt realise they franchised, funnily enough the centre i visited isnt on the rspca pet search so maybe its franchised. The attitude was terrible, all i wanted was 2 questions answering by someone with knowledge of the animal, its a poor do when the rabbit staff dont know their rabbits! makes you wonder about the care of the rabbits in their care. the receptionist said she hadnt been up there for months and had no idea what they had.

I'm not having much luck with RSPCA Middlesex either......all this campaigning goes on tv.....radio and no one is actually around to simply rehome an animal...grrrr
 
I think they are good when it comes to going in to somewhere and seizing animals. They are great at getting animals out of bad situations and taking owners to court etc. I just feel that because I wasnt taking a dog or cat I wasnt worth dealing with. I wouldnt go back twice in an hour if I wasnt comitted to getting a rabbit or getting my questions answered. Make no wonder theres so many private rescues if this is how the rspca deal with you.

Having said all this the new little boy is gorgeous, which I had thought to take a pic. He is a bit of a mixture, looks like a dutch with blue eyes and lop ears, for some reason he reminds me of a border collie in his markings. He lived with his brother in a tiny hutch after being a pets at home baby then a pets at home rescue bunny. then rehomed in June this year, then recently found cuddling his dead brother and now at sues rescue. He will be coming to live with twinkle our albino girl in her shed and enclosed patio, oh and then theres the 4 cats that just give me that look of 'oh another animal mum'
 
The main problem the RSPCA has is that not enough people come forward to volunteer. Why don't you let them know that you will be willing to help out for a few hours every weekend. Then there will be someone to deal with future rabbit enquiries.
 
The main problem the RSPCA has is that not enough people come forward to volunteer. Why don't you let them know that you will be willing to help out for a few hours every weekend. Then there will be someone to deal with future rabbit enquiries.

Great idea. Bunny savvy homecheckers are always needed too :D
 
now theres a thought. I would have to be big and brave or I would end up over run with any waif or stray. I am like a train crash when things go wrong with animals. I cried watching Ice Planet the other night with the killer whales and the seal. Whilst my kids and hubby made jokes about Chad ( you would have to be 40+ to remember chad) WOT NO SEAL!

Definately food for thought, quite happy to muck out etc, will give it some thought.
 
now theres a thought. I would have to be big and brave or I would end up over run with any waif or stray. I am like a train crash when things go wrong with animals. I cried watching Ice Planet the other night with the killer whales and the seal. Whilst my kids and hubby made jokes about Chad ( you would have to be 40+ to remember chad) WOT NO SEAL!

Definately food for thought, quite happy to muck out etc, will give it some thought.

Give them a call or go have a chat with them. I didnt do well at fostering as Fudge in my siggy shows :oops: I love homechecking though. I make more improvement suggestions for buns than any other animal because people just dont know what they need so you really would be helping
 
Dont think I would do well fostering, I did ponder fostering for a local cat charity but again I dont think I could give them back. Its finding time thats the hard bit, 2 kids, 4 cats (2 needing medical help daily), 2 bunnies, old needy parents then I work, but having said that maybe volunteering would be an escape. I am sure my daughter (13) would want to help too, she is the bunny lady I just oversee and provide what the bunnies need but I do get so attached. We have lost a pair in the last 4 weeks and its heart breaking.

Our lonely girl is on the rug now cos there are fireworks going off and its set the next door neighbours off I dont know if shes more scared of the fireworks or the dogs barking but shes quite happy on the rug with one of the cats.
 
aww sorry you have had a bad experience with an RSPCA; two of our bunnies have been adopted from them and we had positive and helpful support from them and as others have previously said above they are run independently. Some of the difficulty of staffing may be down to funding and relying heavily on volunteers to cope. The sudden upsurge in furries for adoption is putting strain on every rescue centre and perhaps not all extra staff are clued up if they are additional extras!! At least you got sorted out even if it was not at the first visit to a rescue.
 
I foster for the RSPCA and think that each branch may be different. He probabl;y had other things on his mind so didn't want to stand around talking becuase he did say previous they were understaffed, so maybe he was trying to get off quick to something that urgently required his attention. It's a shame, but you never know why I guess.
 
Its a shame about rspca I used to send money etc but sadly all I have had is bad experiences with them. (not all) but it seems unless they are on telly they just dont want to know.
We originally phoned when I was after rabbits and they werent interested and said when suitable buns came in they'd ring back. We got ours elsewhere and few months later I got a phone call asking why I didnt progress with the rspca I explained to the lady and she said well thats not good if we are trying to rehome and nobody is ringing people back thn no wonder we are overcrowded!

As for taking animals they are pretty useless in my experiences at this also. Rabbits seem to be pretty low on the list and one inspector at a national rabbit week infront of rabbit owners said how she doesnt like rabbits at all they are boring etc :?

But the rspca is just a name and like everything some people genuinly care who work there the durham branch is fab and the lady goes out her way to do stuff. So I suppose it depends on the individual at the time and whether they like certain pet more. But as they work under the name even if theydo hate rabbits etc they should at least look past the fur and see the creature inside and do all they can to get that soul a home. And if they are busy then quickly explain apologise and ask to ring you back!

But yu still gave a home to a deserving bunny and thats what counts! x
 
The main problem the RSPCA has is that not enough people come forward to volunteer.

The problem with the RSPCA is that it seems to have become an essentially political organisation which has been captured by fanatics and activists and is only prepared to turn out and do something if there's money or publicity to be had from it. When I identified a group of rabbits in need of help, it proved impossible to get any sense or action through RSPCA hotline, although I reported that I thought the rabbits concerned were in significant danger. Something was only done because I spoke informally and by chance to someone else, known to many on this board, who knew the local RSPCA inspector for the area personally and talked him into investigating.

Put bluntly, it's an organisation I would never dream of volunteering for or giving money to.
 
Back
Top