| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| angriesthedgehog |
Posted - 23/04/2014 : 15:58:00
yesterday at 7am I was woken up by yet another RSPCA visit! I am really getting sick and tired of it now. Like an idiot I thought oh whatever, Ill let them in (esp as one of the inspectors seemed fine, the other was all silent) No problems at all, showed the room and nothing wrong. They asked if my beardies had water, I said no i dont give bowls as I mist the veg (one has a waterfall thing) and they wont drink the standing water anyway. So all fine and they left. I was pretty peeved as I am a bit sick of it now. About 20 min later, the silent lady who just visited was at the door with a different person. Thinking they forgot something I let them in. What a mistake! I was accused of operating a "breeding farm" and that I shouldnt breed when animals are in rescues. I was informed that my beardies needed a bowl of water despite that they wont drink it... they drink the misted water which was present when they visited and that I need a license for sugar gliders. I finally told them to get the hell out and that I wanted a vet present to confirm the poor conditions and I was then told the second person was a vet and that I should be banned from breeding as it was irresponsable and cruel. I then told them to get out or I would call the police!
Afterwards I phoned the police to complain, I was told that they shouldnt be using these bullying tactics and they should follow proper channels ! Which I bloody agree to. I am now looking into launching a formal complaint as this is taking the mickey.
Oh and here is my animal room! Bearing in mind they turned up at 7am so all I had done was turn on the lights etc and feed the beardies. I havent cleaned the wheels or anything as I wanted to show how it was seen not after my usual spot - clean.
cresties in the exos, crickets in top, mealworms in drawers. Hedgehogs in wooden thing to right
hedgehogs- two without wheels have young babies. Hadnt spot cleaned as it was bloody 7am!, beardie in bottom but wouldnt fit in pic. posted loads of pics of the beardie set up anyway
corn snakes... mostly youngsters & yearlings royal in bottom (heating stuff on back) other beardie viv underneath but again I posted pics the other day
this is the bit on top of where the floor slopes above the stairs. Snails in exos. baby beardies above
my feeder mice.. between 3 - 5 mice per tub
sugar glider cage and under the jcp (she is small)
sorry for stupid moan just really fed up with the rubbish! |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| eeji |
Posted - 11/06/2014 : 20:33:10
quote:
Originally posted by Razee
I would suggest you see a solicitor, as I think this type of behavior amounts to harassment. Perhaps get a report from your vet, and a reptile specialist - are you a member of British Herpetological society, by any?
What makes me really, really sad is that there are plenty of people with very little money, dear old ladies etc., giving their pennies to the RSPCA collecting boxes, thinking they are helping all these animals.... then the money is wasted, paying people like this to come around, and quite obviously trying to find something to justify their visit...
^^^ This. And get that complaint into the RSPCA, also make a formal complaint to the police as someone is clearly targetting you. |
| Isoldael |
Posted - 08/06/2014 : 00:11:11
People don't seem to understand that keeping exotics is not like keeping cats. If you kept 50 cats - okay, that might be a problem as it would be hard to properly look after them all. With reptiles (and other small exotics) this is much more manageable and as long as there are no care issues, they shouldn't come whining at the amount of animals you keep. >.< |
| hayleylsl |
Posted - 07/06/2014 : 22:17:10
I really sympathize with you and this awful situation. Like some others have said I used to have a lot of respect for the RSPCA, but lost all of it after a few situations mainly involving disputes over cats- I volunteer for Cats Protection and have been shocked at their lack of care or concern for obvious cruelty cases...and then I read things like this where they seem to be targeting exotic animal keepers for no reason- and yours isn't the first situation like this that I have heard of, and it is not right at all.
Your animals look so well cared for, and your room is immaculate. I'm so sorry this is happening. |
| angriesthedgehog |
Posted - 06/05/2014 : 20:30:13
well I was already unhappy with them... our local cats protection paid a fortune for a feral to have his teeth sorted. They are also now helping us sort the feral cat issue... we trap them, get them snipped and released. (currently one feral is living in our front room with a semi healed broken leg to see if he can be released but thats another story!)
There is also an issue with FIV and Felv in our areas stray / ferals
Rspca says just leave them
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| Razee |
Posted - 24/04/2014 : 17:11:14
Lupi lou, I didn't know it was a barn owl when I found it, it was just this little ball of fluff, all I could tell was that it was an owl. I thought it'd be tawny, as I knew there were lots of tawny owls in the are. It was the guy at the wildlife hospital who recognized it as a barn owl baby, :-) He thought perhaps a magpie or a crow pulled it out of a nest, then dropped it. There were tiny scratch marks on its back. It was very lucky to have survived the fall, too. :-)
That poor little king snake! :-0
Back to angriesthedhog - hope it all gets sorted out. Try not to loose your patience, and always be polite ( difficult in some circumstances, I know ). Surely, in the end, your good care and the fact you pretty much likely know 10 x more about the animals than all of those inspectors put together, must win in the end. |
| lupi lou |
Posted - 24/04/2014 : 15:31:57
That barn owl was very lucky you managed to get it sorted, you would think since barn owls are endangered they would have been eager to get it sorted! We had a issue with a stray cat RSPCA took him away, neutered him bathed him then brought him back and released him! He had no owner just got fed by people on the street who felt sorry for him. Our neighbour ended up finding a nice home for him. I read a post on face book recently from a reptile rescue about a little king snake an old lady came across on a path, she rung the RSPCA and their response was its not native so leave it if it's still there the next day we'll get a specialist out to retrieve it. The poor thing didn't survive the night. |
| Razee |
Posted - 24/04/2014 : 09:48:14
It is a real shame. I used to love RSPCA, too - when I first came to UK, I was glued to TV, watching all the RSPCA Animal rescue programs - they were my heros. In Czech republic there was no such think as animal police, and at that time, the animal welfare was very poor. It was mostly just down to individual animal lovers. no official rescue centres. I won't go into what happened to thousands of horses from various studs, after the fall of the socialism, and when there was no longer any money for the studs... too sad. In the official dog pound, the conditions were horrendous, fleas, kennel coughs, all in tiny concrete cells...
So, I was so happy to see so many people over here, who really cared, so many animal rescues, and I really wanted to become an RSPCA inspector. I was already volunteering for a horse rescue center, and for disabled riding charity, as I couldn't work officially ( Czech republic wasn't in EU then ).
Then came the first shock - it's not like on TV at all! I found young injured guillemot, and it was being harassed by crows. I rung the RSPCA, perhaps naively imagining they'd come and rescue it, like on TV.... ha. I was told it's nature, and to leave it.
Next I had totally wild, feral cat, that had produced 3 kittens on the top of the hay in the stables. One day I kept hearing faint mewing, all day, but couldn't find where from. Next day, still mewing, fainter. After long search, I found one of the kittens ( only about a week or 10 days old ) had fallen in between the hay bales, and was stuck in the middle! There was no way of taking the bales apart, too many, too heavy, too unstable, even climbing up on them caused them to move, and threatened to bury the other kittens. At that point, the kitten would have been there for almost 2 days! Again, RSPCA was not interested, they said they'd have to set a trap for the mother first, and that they didn't have enough people in the area.... desperately, I tried to dig a tunnel in between bales. I could now see the kitten, but there was no way of getting to it.
I took the horse out for a ride round the block, in the hope the mum cat would come back ( she always disappeared when I was there ) and somehow get the kitten. When I came back, heard kitten screaming. He had managed to crawl out, but got caught on the hay by his mini claws, and was hanging upside down by a paw! Untangled the kitten, and climbed up the bales one handed, kitten in the other hand, to the nest just under the ceiling - and came face to face with the angry Mum cat. Very, very slowly pushed the kitten towards mum. She was glaring. Left kitten on the edge of nest and retreated. Kitten still crying 20 mins later. Climbed up again, and pushed the kitten in the nest. After couple of seconds there was some purring and then suckling sound :-)
The mum cat left after several weeks, taking the 2 black kittens with her, but never came back for the last, stunningly coloured calico girl. She was in the area, I kept glimpsing her with the two kittens, she just deliberately left the brightly coloured one behind. So that's how we got our stable cat ( she is now spayed ), and she does the important job of keeping the mice down, and supervising the horses, of course. :-)
Third time I got no help was when I found a baby barn owl, only couple of days old, on the road when riding. No nest, not even trees around. RSPCA not interested, RSPB not picking up the phones. Baby owl going downhill pretty fast ( they need to be kept warm, I had it in my T shirt - I didn't have snakes then, so no heating, and no mice available ) Local emergency vets gave me contact for a guy who run a wildlife hospital, and he was amazing. He told us to bring it straight in, and re shuffled all his animals to free an incubator.
Long story short, he got the baby owl feeding, and later passed it onto a Barn Owl Trust, so happy ending for an owl, thanks to a guy who runs a wildlife hospital, out of his own pocket!
To be fair to RSPB, I got a phone call couple of days later, asking if I still had the baby owl ( I'd left a message ), but of course, by then the owl was in the Wildlife hospital and well.
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| LadySybil |
Posted - 24/04/2014 : 08:19:46
You probably know about these but here are a couple links I found.
http://sugarglidershop.co.uk/information/sugar-glider-faq/
https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/?page=2 |
| tk72 |
Posted - 24/04/2014 : 08:10:53
Took the kids into the rspca by us (Halewood) we where looking at the kittens and I tried to talk to the woman who was cleaning them. I jokingly said to her "i dont know how you don't take them all home as they are so cute" got a rather glum fed up growl back " if you worked with them you wouldn't want to have them in your home" and then of she went. I Thought you miserable cow. She is meant to be the first impression you have of a place and she was horrid. I won't be going back. |
| Vince_the_snake |
Posted - 24/04/2014 : 07:07:27
That's a shame, I used to really like the RSPCA ( I've got all of my rabbits from there ) but after hearing this I'm not so sure anymore. |
| LadySybil |
Posted - 24/04/2014 : 03:03:34
I have a passionate hate for the RSPCA.
They put down more animals than they rehome and blame lack of space or that no one wants to rehome. I tried to rehome a cat from them (before I fell out with them) and I didnt pass their little test thing because I already had a cat and I worked full time... How do they expect to rehome animals!?
Anyway, I fell out with them because they threatened to take my ferrets from me- apparently I was not keeping them in suitable housing and not giving them appropriate care, one appeared to be very thin and missing part of a tooth, there was poop present and a water bottle was almost empty when they done their inspection, when I was at work and the ferrets where in their outside hutchs- on private property, in the shade and in the back garden so not visible to anyone other than my neighbours!
I had 3 jills, they were all neutered, fed with new dry food daily- plus sardines, gravy, odd bits and bobs to enhance their diets and treats, new water daily (outside hutches had 3 water bottles and inside they had a water fountain) and the outside hutches were cleaned out 3 times a week with daily spot checks, the inside litter tray was cleaned daily. I clipped their nails every few weeks or as needed, bathed them- made sure no fleas or ticks etc was on them (they loved the bath)I even took them out for walks on their leads.
The RSPCA man didnt believe me when I said that they only went outside when I was out of the house as they had figured out how to get out of their inside cage and I couldnt trust them not to trash my house when I wasnt there to stop them lol.
He even took Scully (the thin and missing part of a tooth one) to the vet- even though I had the paper work to show that I had taken her to my vet about her tooth- nothing wrong with it just chipped off with age/tried to bite something too hard- I just had to keep an eye on it and if it discoloured take her straight back to the vet for Abx. She was thin and that was it- no reason apart from a very fast, even for a ferret, metabolism. Not underweight enough for the vet to be worried.
I was told pretty much the same when I picked her up from the RSPCA vet. I had monthly inspections for 3 months and then every 3 months for the rest of the year.
Oh and this was their outside hutches:
Two separate hutches joined together so it was one big one, my neighbour done it for me and he built it so well that when they died and I had to get rid of the hutches it was almost impossible to separate them lol.
They wouldnt even tell me why they done the initial inspection in the first place.
I feel your pain, I really do and agree with the others that you fight it. It was obviously a planned attack on you as they visited so early- I dont think I know anyone that has cleaned, fed, watered as many animals as you have all before 7am. Hell I dont know many people that are awake at that time!
I would get evidence RE the sugar gilders and the supposed need for a licence and the back up of your vet and if possible a totally independent reptile/hedgehog specialist. |
| tk72 |
Posted - 23/04/2014 : 22:34:35
How did they come to know about your collection? Had someone complained or reported you? |
| lupi lou |
Posted - 23/04/2014 : 22:03:10
Shocking that you actually look after your animals shame on you!! I have lost any faith I had in the RSPCA, they are totally out of line, why don't they focus om real welfare issues rather than go after people just because they keep exotics, I think they need to update their knowledge on legislation too. I don't blame you for the rant I'd have been livid too. |
| Razee |
Posted - 23/04/2014 : 20:53:21
I would suggest you see a solicitor, as I think this type of behavior amounts to harassment. Perhaps get a report from your vet, and a reptile specialist - are you a member of British Herpetological society, by any?
What makes me really, really sad is that there are plenty of people with very little money, dear old ladies etc., giving their pennies to the RSPCA collecting boxes, thinking they are helping all these animals.... then the money is wasted, paying people like this to come around, and quite obviously trying to find something to justify their visit... |
| angriesthedgehog |
Posted - 23/04/2014 : 20:18:53
think I may have a chat with my vet as well. Really stupid people |
| Vince_the_snake |
Posted - 23/04/2014 : 17:45:41
I hate it that they found some very minor problem (cresties haven't got water 24/7 which they don't even need) and then they start to discredit your whole animal collection! They came just to look for bad things  |
| Murphy123 |
Posted - 23/04/2014 : 17:26:22
Your room looks good to me all the cages and tanks look clean and from the pics or your animals that I've seen on here look well looked after :)can you not get your own vet involved because they must have records to show that your animals are well looked after. |
| scottishbluebird |
Posted - 23/04/2014 : 16:39:09
 So out of order
You didnt need to justify yourself here with the pics, we all know how healthy and happy your animals look, I would be getting someone who is a professional to be backing you up on this, even if its an owner of a reptile shop or something???????? |
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