‘Stealing food from the mouths of animals north of the border’ – Is an English animal charity still taking millions from Scots while doing no work in Scotland?

As with O-levels when it should have been O-Grades and 11-plus when it should have been the ‘Qualies’, UK-wide media have confused Scots for decades and RSPCA and SSPCA remains a bone of contention.

My family often say RSPCA yet the RSPCA does no work at all in Scotland?

Does it raise money from Scots who see the adverts on ‘national’ TV?

In 2009, the Herald revealed the above.

Is there evidence that people in Scotland still give to the RSPCA though they only work in England?

Yes, there is clear evidence that people in Scotland donate to the RSPCA (which only operates in England and Wales), despite the existence of the separate Scottish SPCA (SSPCA). The RSPCA and SSPCA are distinct charities—the RSPCA (founded 1824) works in England and Wales, while the SSPCA (founded 1839) handles animal welfare in Scotland.

The SSPCA publicly accused the RSPCA of “stealing food from the mouths of animals north of the border” by accepting donations intended for Scottish animals. In response to media inquiries, the RSPCA admitted it received around 3.5% of its donations from Scotland—up to £1.25 million a year (based on £35 million in one-off and regular donations the previous year). The SSPCA argued this money could significantly support its own work, such as running rescue centres. There were also reports of online donations from Scottish postcodes being accepted without immediate redirection. https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/rspca-scottish-spca-sign-deal-end-long-running-conflicts/governance/article/974211

There is some more recent evidence and ongoing awareness of the issue, though it is less prominent than the 2009 controversy and lacks new quantified figures from the RSPCA or SSPCA on the exact scale of Scottish donations post-2020.The most specific recent data point remains the 2020 SSPCA pandemic appeal, which referenced a survey finding that 7% of Scots had donated to the RSPCA since December 2018. This was used to highlight donor confusion and the need for support directed to Scottish animals, especially as the SSPCA faced lost monthly donations during COVID. https://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2020/04/27/sspca-launch-new-campaign-to-not-forget-the-animals-during-the-pandemic-after-losing-1500-monthly-donations/

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8 thoughts on “‘Stealing food from the mouths of animals north of the border’ – Is an English animal charity still taking millions from Scots while doing no work in Scotland?”

  1. Support the SSPCA! they are an amazing Scottish charity, doing excellent work for animals both wild and domestic, in Scotland.
    Utterly disgraceful the English RSPCA are taking funding from Scotland, when that huge sum of money could be spent helping animals IN Scotland.
    This should be front page news, given so many people donate to RSPCA in Scotland.
    Just have to look at the ‘National’ lottery too, isn’t it the case the money they take in Scotland is no where near what is spent/awarded to ‘good causes’ in Scotland. Though they did pay for a private school in Edinburgh to get a new state of the art sports centre built a few years ago, because that school was condsidered a charity..awww.

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    1. Yes there’s a charity shop near us that used to say, ‘what’s made in Scotland stays in Scotland’ had that sign for years but it’s obviously not the case now the sign is no longer there, and probably never was. :-/

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  5. Pisses me off that the Rspca advertises in Scotland. Can’t the SSPCA afford an ad at least letting Scots know that?

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