by Jessica York

Created on: December 02, 2008   Last Updated: October 16, 2010

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is registered charity (number 219099) based in England and Wales and funded exclusively by voluntary donations. The RSPCA is on of the top 40 largest charities in the United Kingdom; their 2005 income was 100 million pounds sterling. Supporters of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were encouraged to form local branches and, if they raised enough money, were able to hire an inspector for their branch. The RSPCA has 172 local branches, as well as 38 clinics and 33 animal centres. Today the RSPCA is divided into five regions: North, East, Wales and West, South and Southwest, and Southeast. These regions are headed by a superintendent. They are then further divided into groups headed by a chief inspector. In 1832, the first year the organization kept record, the had 181 convictions of cruelty.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals became the first animal welfare charity in the world when it was founded in 1824 by Richard "Humanity Dick" Martin (a member of the British Parliament), William Wilberforce(another member of the British parliament and well known for helping to abolish slavery), Rev. Arthur Broome and 19 other reformers. The committee investigated markets, city coach-men's conduct, and slaughterhouses. The coalition was granted royal status in 1840 by Queen Victoria, who also became their first patron. The tradition of the inspector began in the late 1830s and by 1841 there were five inspectors. They were based in London, but travelled around the country to bring suspects before the courts and were paid a guinea a week for their service.It is widely believed that the RSPCA's inspection committees predated the police force. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals lobbied parliament during the 19th century and helped to create several pieces of legislation such as the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 which outlawed baiting and the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 which sought to control experimentation on animals.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals mission statement is "The RSPCA as a charity will, by all lawful means, prevent cruelty, promote kindness and alleviate suffering of animals." They also state that they intend to achieve this goal by upholding and enforcing the law through private prosecution. Private Prosecution is when an outside, non-government affiliated organization believes that a suspect is guilty of a wrongdoing and brings the suspect before a Judge or Justice of the Peace in an effort to obtain a conviction. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a wonderful charity that has done a lot of beneficial work in the years since their inception and promises to continue their extremely important work for a long time still to come.

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