RSPCA Assured accused of 'welfare-washing'

The news comes as undercover footage released by animal rights group GenV entitled ‘The RSPCA’s Dirty Little Secret​’, showed animals with large growths, in filthy and cramped conditions with no access to clean drinking water. 

RSPCA Assured said it has launched an investigation into the welfare concerns raised from the undercover video at a farm in Bridgwater, Somerset. According to the RSPCA website all certified farms “must comply with the RSPCA’s stringent higher welfare standards.”​

The RSPCA Assured scheme has come under fire in recent months. Sir Brian May resigned from his role as a vice president of the RSPCA following a scandal​​ surrounding the charity's farm certification scheme.The move followed a three month undercover investigation into the RSPCA Assured scheme by activist group Animal Rising was made public. 

“The RSPCA’s mission is to prevent cruelty to all animals. But they can’t prevent cruelty to animals while they’re misleading the public by promoting the farming and slaughtering of them,”​ said Glover. 

“The RSPCA can still push for welfare changes and legislation, and even set welfare standards – they don’t need an assurance scheme to do that. The issue is that improved standards are rarely enforced, so are often meaningless. The RSPCA should not be legitimising the farming and slaughter of animals, nor should it be encouraging people to eat animals, as it currently does with its RSPCA Assured ads.”​ 

An RSPCA Assured spokesperson said that animal welfare is its absolute priority, that it always urgently investigates any allegations of poor welfare and urged anyone with concerns to contact the organisation. 

They said: “We immediately launched a full and thorough investigation when we were first made aware of welfare concerns on this farm. We issued the farm with a formal warning and they are now operating under a sanction. This means they are subject to extra unannounced visits by RSPCA Assured assessors, to ensure they are meeting the RSPCA’s strict welfare standards.” ​

This comes as research released last week showed that that 80% of 2,000 people surveyed view welfare-washing as a serious issue, while almost a third (30%) of Brits believe if the 'best' certification schemes such as RSPCA Assured can't ensure animal welfare, we should stop farming animals altogether. 

The survey was commissioned by the For Charlie​​ campaign, which has sent an open letter to the RSPCA – signed by celebrities including Ricky Gervais, Joanna Lumley, Moby, Bryan Adams and Will Young, ​and backed by ​60 pro-animal organisations including Animal Aid, Animal Justice Project and PETA ​​ – asking them to drop the Assured scheme and promote a kinder plant-based future.