FAQ's

If you or your constituent are concerned about the ill treatment of an animal, please ring the RSPCA’s 24-hour cruelty and advice line 0300 1234 999.  The RSPCA treats all reports in the strictest confidence.

Section 68 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 makes local authorities solely responsible for dealing with stray dogs.  

To arrange for a stray dog to be collected, please contact your local authority dog warden.  If the local authority has an arrangement with a local animal shelter, private kennels or contractor they should provide you with the information. 

The RSPCA and other animal welfare charities cannot pick up stray dogs or accept them from people who find them.  Instead, we direct people to their local authority.   We can only deal with a stray dog in an emergency, for example, if it is in imminent danger or risk from suffering and the local authority is unable to attend.

If your constituent has lost a pet, they can call the RSPCA’s 24-hour cruelty and advice line 0300 1234 999 to provide us with details for our lost and found register. If someone then finds the pet and contacts us, we will have the information we need to try and reunite them with their owner. 

If they have lost a dog they should contact their local council’s dog warden. They could contact their local veterinary surgeries, animal centres, and the police. They could also try putting up posters in the area with a picture of their pet, and advertising in newsagents, schools and local newspapers.  

Having pets microchipped or bringing back the dog licence to improve traceability would make any future searches easier.

If an injured animal is found, people should contact the RSPCA 24-hour cruelty and advice line 0300 1234 999 and be ready to provide details of the animal and its precise location. Where possible and safe to do so, they should confine the animal and/or stay with it, keeping it quiet, still and warm. It is advised NOT to attempt to feed or give water to any injured animal.

If an injured animal is found, people should contact the RSPCA 24-hour cruelty and advice line 0300 1234 999 and be ready to provide details of the animal and its precise location. Where possible and safe to do so, they should confine the animal and/or stay with it, keeping it quiet, still and warm. It is advised NOT to attempt to feed or give water to any injured animal.

Many young animals are brought to RSPCA centres by well meaning members of the public who are concerned that they have been orphaned.  But this will not always have been the case.  If you or your constituent find a baby animal that appears to be alone it is best to watch from a distance for 24 hours, unless it is in immedidate danger, before calling the RSPCA on our national cruelty and advice line 0300 1234 999.

Constituents who have a problem with status/dangerous dogs or dogs being used in anti-social behaviour should contact their local authority or police in the first instance.  If the animals are being fought (or there are other welfare or curelty problems) please contact the RSPCA on our national cruelty and advice line 0300 1234 999.  

If you or your constituent has a complaint about noise from animals, such as dogs barking, they should contact their local authority.  The local authority's animal warden and/or noise abatement team will usually deal with such complaints, and will try to resolve the problem.  Where a welfare concern is raised as a result of an investigation, the local authority will usually liaise with the RSPCA directly.

If you or your constituent is concerned about someone keeping a dangerous wild animal they should contact their local authority to check whether the animal is licensed, if necessary

If you or your constituent is concerned about the conditions or activities of a licensed animal establishment such as a pet shop, boarding, dog breeding or horse riding establishment they should contact their local authority’s licensing department who are generally responsible for licensing all animal establishments.

If you or your constituent is concerned about the conditions or activities of a licensed animal establishment such as a pet shop, boarding, dog breeding or horse riding establishment they should contact their local authority’s licensing department who are generally responsible for licensing all animal establishments. 

Owners must take their pet to a vet as soon as possible if it becomes ill or is injured. It is a criminal offence to knowingly deny an animal veterinary treatment and cause it to suffer unnecessarily.

If they have a problem with paying for treatment, some vets may allow them to pay in installments to spread the cost.  Furthermore, the RSPCA, PDSA and the Blue Cross provide veterinary treatment at reduced costs. 

Local RSPCA branches are run independently by locally elected committees of trustees.  They can sometimes help with vets’ bills if people are receiving certain state benefits. However, this will depend on their current financial position.  For more information, contact your local RSPCA branch. 

We also advise people to consider taking out a pet insurance policy for a few pounds a month.  This will cover unexpected vets’ bills in the future.

The RSPCA only covers England and Wales.  If you have queries about animal welfare in Scotland please contact the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on 03000 999 999 or visit their website.

If you are an elected representative we would be very pleased to arrange a day or half day out with your local inspector so you can see the work that they do in your constituency. For further information please email us at politicalaffairs@rspca.org.uk

We are also able to arrange visits to local animal hospitals, branches and re-homing centres. In some cases we will be able to arrange visits to Freedom Food farms in your area. 

All these provide an excellent opportunity for you to learn about some of pressing animal welfare matters in your area and meet the dedicated individuals working on the frontline.

The RSPCA produces a number of reports and briefing notes on key animal welfare issues.  All of these reports are evidence-based with technical input from our scientific and legal specialists.

There are a number of topical briefing documents on this site and also in the secure area. If you have an issue that has not been covered on this site, please do not hesitate to contact us via politicalaffairs@rspca.org.uk or by ringing 0300 1230 236.

In 2010 the RSPCA dealt with more than 1.1 million calls to its cruelty and advice line.

130,033 animals were rescued, seized or signed over to the RSPCA in 2010.

In 2010 the RSPCA investigated 159,686 allegations of cruelty.

1830 cases were referred to our Prosecutions department in 2010 involving 2777 defendents.

2441 defendents were convicted of animal welfare offences in 2010.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 86,354 welfare improvement notices were given out by RSPCA inspectors.