At 03:15 5/21/00 +0100, Cris Page wrote:
 
>I wrote to the RSPCA headquarters 10 days ago about the killing of Boe.  I
>had a reply back from the Welsh regional office which I felt didnt answer
>my points.
 
Any chance you could post the first response here?  I think it would be
interesting to many and might result in more letters to the RSPCA, Members
of Parliament and maybe others.
 
>I hope ALL uk subscribers to this and other "pet" lists will write and
>protest that it is not acceptable for inspectors to coldly kill our pets
>in this manner.  WE CAN make a difference.
 
I'm in the USA, but what is the address?  Are there any plans to sue the
RSPCA in court?  If the RSPCA is a private organization, what they did
isn't only unacceptable; it may be illegal.
 
The situation here in the USA isn't much different, though it varies from
place to place.  Our local Humane Societies vary in how they handle
"exotic" and odd animals, but promptly euthanizing them is not at all
uncommon policy and few ever know it happens.  I suspect the only reason
anyone knows what happened to Boe is because the police were the ones who
found him initially.  This sort of thing probably happens far more often
than any of us imagine it does.
 
My local Humane Society says they can't deal with ferrets because they
can't be successfully vaccinated for rabies.  They're wrong, but they say
that's what their vets say and they won't name their vets.  They won't say
what they do if a ferret comes into their possession.  They prefer to
answer the question by saying they don't accept ferrets.
 
--
Jim H
[Posted in FML issue 3059]