The RSPCA is celebrating the historic implementation of the Animal Welfare Act that came into force on the 6th April 07 which will mean a brighter future for neglected pets and other animals.

The animal welfare act is of great significance to the many thousands of animals that suffer through neglect, and for those of us who work to help prevent suffering.

Animals need appropriate food and water, shelter and exercise, and to be treated quickly if they are sick or injured. Crucially now owners and keepers will have a legal responsibility to meet the basic welfare needs of their animals.

As well as an increase in the penalties for those who inflict the most serious offences, the Animal Welfare Act makes it a legal requirement for owners to meet the needs of their animals, which includes:
* A proper diet (food and water)
* Somewhere suitable to live
* Any need to be housed with or apart from other animals
* The ability to express normal behaviour
* Protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease.

RSPCA Director General Jackie Ballard said: "For the first time in history we have a law which enables our inspectors to prevent animals suffering by taking effective action earlier in cases of ongoing neglect.

Most people are well aware of their animals needs, and so the change to the law will not affect them or their pets. However, if anyone is unsure about what their pet needs, in terms of diet, appropriate housing, exercise, company, and veterinary care, we would urge them to contact us or their vet for advice".

The RSPCA is caring for a dog and two cats that have been abandoned at the charity clinics.
A Staffordshire bull terrier suffering from a mammary tumour the size of a football was brought into the RSPCA Harlow clinic in The Stowe by a young female who then hurried out and left the dog behind.
The female dog, who is thought to be around nine-years-old, has had the tumour removed and is now looking for a new home.
Two large male cats were dumped outside the Colchester RSPCA clinic on Sunday and left in cat carriers in the pouring rain. The clinic was closed so the cats were found by a passer-by who called the RSPCA and Inspector Wendy Knowles arrived and found the cats sitting in the carriers with two inches of rain in them.
The cats have been taken into RSPCA care. Both are in reasonable condition, although one cat had an eye missing and the other had matted fur.
RSPCA Essex chief inspector Beth Clements said: We would like to hear from anyone who knows who abandoned this little dog and the cats. It is an offence to just leave animals like this. The poor dog was suffering horrendously with the huge tumour and the cats were just left to their own devices in the pouring rain.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the RSPCA in confidence on 0870 5555999.

Damning New Report Exposes Woeful Gaps In Racing Greyhound Welfare
- RSPCA Calls For Government To Regulate Industry -

A new independent report on racing greyhounds has exposed shocking welfare concerns and a shameful lack of industry records or safeguards for the graceful dogs that generate a whopping £2.9 billion in betting each year1.

The six-month inquiry by the Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW), indicates:

• A minimum of 13,478 greyhounds bred for racing are considered ‘surplus' to the industry in England and Wales each year.
• At least 4,728 racing greyhounds in England are unaccounted for each year – these are presumed to be killed by the age of three or four – when their racing days are over.2
• At least a further 2,478 pups bred for English greyhound racing each year never even make it to the track – and are also unaccounted for.
• The Retired Greyhound Trust (which is largely funded by the industry) rehomes just 3,500 each year. About 1,500 more ex-racing greyhounds are rehomed annually by animal welfare charities, as well as others going to private homes.

The RSPCA echoes the APGAW inquiry's grave concern for the true scale of unwanted dogs being destroyed, given the "enormous gaps in industry records of number of dogs…associated with the greyhound racing industry.”3

The Society believes even the shocking figures above of young dogs killed are likely to be a gross underestimate, given the large unmonitored numbers of greyhounds coming to England from breeders in Ireland, as well as the scant data recorded by the industry as a whole.

"This report unveils a woeful inadequacy of knowledge within the industry about the very thing its success relies on - the greyhound dog,” said David McDowell, RSPCA veterinary consultant.

"Without even knowing how many greyhounds are used in racing - let alone how many are bred for, or retire annually from racing - how can the industry possibly claim to ensure the dogs' welfare, or even appreciate what the problems are?

"This is a damning report by an independent Parliamentary body, and it reveals a catalogue of concern. There is a rising tide of public unease about this issue, and it's high time the industry sorted it out.”



The new report recommends this issue must be addressed as a priority, referring to the industry-derived figures as "conjecture” and providing only "an indication of the current situation” 3.

The report identifies that a system must be found which matches the number of dogs allowed into the industry with the numbers that can be successfully rehomed at the end of their racing career.

The RSPCA agrees that at the end of their racing career, all greyhounds must be retired to a home that will give them a good quality of life for the remainder of their natural lifespan. The Society thinks this should not depend on charity, but should be financed and managed by the greyhound racing industry. As the report also identifies, finance could come from an increased racing greyhound registration fee, part of which could be held as a pension.

The APGAW inquiry is also calling on Defra to seek exemptions from EU legislation which would allow a compulsory levy on bookmakers in order to safeguard the welfare of racing greyhounds.

Furthermore, the report identifies welfare concerns with greyhounds transported long distances in cages that are too small for them to stand and turn around; and that the surface, design and dimension of tracks could have a significant impact on the welfare of racing dogs.

"The current situation is a depressing fiasco,” said David McDowell. "All aspects of welfare within the greyhound industry, from breeding and transportation to handling, racing and retirement, and final euthanasia must be comprehensively improved.

"The RSPCA is calling for the governments of England and Wales to apply external regulation to the greyhound industry as a matter of urgency. The other pressing need is a for a set of clearly defined National Standards for all greyhound racing.”