Priority one
Rescue and care
Rescue and Care remains at the heart of the RSPCA. We have been rescuing animals from cruelty, neglect and abuse for 200 years and our unique work will continue. Our Inspectorate provides a vital frontline service, preventing harm, investigating offences and rescuing animals 365 days a year. Our animal centres and hospitals provide specialist expert treatment, rehabilitation and care, championing the animal voice.
Investment in our physical and digital infrastructure will continue to be key to supporting our frontline to do their best for animals. Digital systems and processes are essential to modernising our frontline operations. So we will continue to transform our digital systems to enable evidence-based, real-time decisions about welfare, to free up our frontline teams to focus on animals, and to ensure they can deliver the best care to animals. Alongside this, we will invest in transforming our facilities so they are set up to support excellent animal welfare.
Since 2021, we have started to reorganise our service provision to reprioritise our frontline work on animals suffering cruelty and neglect - a job no other charity does. In order to use our vital resources where we can be most effective, we are building stronger partnerships with other organisations with responsibility for animals, such as local authorities collecting stray dogs or the Animal and Plant Health Agency investigating animal welfare on farms, ensuring we no longer deal with these calls and we can all reach more animals in need, collectively.
Our team of specially trained investigators continue to use their skills to investigate the worst cases of cruelty, abuse and neglect, passing evidence to our highly experienced prosecutions team. This vital work to bring the worst animal abusers to justice will carry on while we continue to work with the UK government to progress the transition of our prosecutions to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) - the statutory body with responsibility for this work. Once that transition takes place, we are committed to continuing to investigate animal welfare complaints and offences to ensure animals continue to get the justice they deserve.
We are empowering the public with advice and support to take small, sick, injured or abandoned animals directly to the vet, so they get the help they need as quickly as possible. This has freed up our skilled frontline rescuers who are reaching cases of cruelty and neglect more quickly.
Our branches remain a vital part of our network, often on the frontline offering crucial care to animals most in need. We have strengthened our branch partnerships to recognise the essential role they play in caring for inspectorate animals and helping animals in communities.
As we work with others to reach more animals in need, collectively, we will build on our Welfare First model, putting the animal’s voice at the heart of every decision we make, to ensure they experience the best possible care. Using the latest research and commissioning our own, we will continue to drive up welfare standards and deliver leading, consistent welfare to every animal.
We will continue to build a strong network of volunteers and partners delivering welfare collectively. As recognised in our 2021 strategy, we can’t possibly reach all animals ourselves.
How we build
A stronger future for animal welfare
Prosecutions
We will continue to work with governments in England and Wales to achieve statutory powers for our inspectors and transfer our prosecuting role to the CPS.
Research
We will use the latest research to drive up welfare and invest in a new Evidence Centre to investigate the drivers of cruelty and neglect We will use the latest research to drive up welfare and invest in a new Evidence Centre to investigate the drivers of cruelty and neglect.
Skills
We will continue to build services which refocus our skills where we can make the most impact for animals delivering sector-leading rescue and care, which is backed by evidence and supported by technology, facilities and systems.
Partnerships
We will continue to strengthen our partnership with our 135 branches to deliver support and care to animals in communities across England and Wales.
Digital systems
We will support our frontline teams with digital systems and processes which gives them access to the data and information they need to deliver the best care to animals and frees them up to focus on the animals who need them most.
Facilities
We will design and build sector-leading, species-focused facilities delivering excellent, individualised care for every animal.
Support
We will continue to build support, advice and tools to empower people to help more animals in need.
A focus on
Welfare first
Our skilled frontline teams rescue and care for thousands of animals each year, supported by our branch network and volunteers. This critical work, that no one else does, remains at the core of the RSPCA. While our specialist rescue teams focus on those animals suffering the worst abuse, cruelty and neglect, we want to reach more animals, collectively, by working in partnership with communities and partners to deliver excellent welfare.
Our Animal Journey work is modernising and transforming the way we deliver that care to animals. Animal welfare and the animal’s voice are at the heart of the programme which will create a strong animal welfare network delivering the highest standard of care at the right time, in the right place and by the right people. We will work with partners, including our 135 branches, volunteers and communities, to build capacity in the animal welfare sector. We are setting clear expectations with the public about our service offering and collaborating with others to support animals in need.
With our new Welfare First model, we will raise the bar in the way we advocate for animals, introducing pioneering new ways to evaluate their wellbeing. Using the five domains model, which focuses not just on meeting their physical needs but on their mental health, giving them positive experiences, not just the absence of suffering. We will ensure that we use the latest research to drive up welfare standards so that we deliver consistent, leading care to every animal who comes to the RSPCA.
Digital technology will support our people to give the best possible care to animals and better manage our resources. We will become a digital ‘front door’ to the animal welfare sector. This will give everyone - people, volunteers or partners - access to the best information, advice and support to empower them to help any animal get the care it needs, whether it is from the RSPCA or others in the animal welfare sector.