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Petition for the RSPCA to Drop the Assured Scheme
The world's oldest and largest animal charity is covering up cruelty on an industrial scale. We investigated over 40 RSPCA Assured farms and slaughterhouses, and what we found was factory farming and severe animal cruelty across the board. Join Chris Packham, Brian May and thousands of others, in calling on the RSPCA to drop the Assured Scheme and start protecting all animals.
For 30 years, the RSPCA has endorsed animal products through their RSPCA Assured scheme, promoting an idealised image of happy, well-cared-for farm animals.
Over the past nine months, we investigated 37 RSPCA farms and 4 RSPCA slaughterhouses. What we found was widespread and systemic suffering, animal cruelty and factory farming. After seeing the footage of these investigations, RSPCA President Chris Packham has resigned, calling the Assured scheme "utterly indefensible".
Crown court judge and animal welfare barrister Ayesha Smart has also described the scheme as "effectively fraud." On the back of our investigations, RSPCA Vice President and Queen's lead guitarist Sir Brian May resigned, and over 60 animal welfare groups and prominent celebrities, including Ricky Gervais, Bryan Adams, and Joanna Lumley, signed an open letter calling for the RSPCA to drop the Assured scheme.
This exposé builds on a further 33 undercover investigations by 10 animal protection organisations over the last 16 years, showing similar levels of cruelty. This is not just "one bad apple"; This is a systemic cover-up of animal cruelty.
The RSPCA's false advertising extends from the supermarket aisles of M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Waitrose to McDonald's and even primary schools, where the scheme is promoted to children. Despite claiming to oppose intensive farming, the RSPCA continues to endorse factory farming practices.
The RSPCA was founded 200 years ago with the mission of preventing animal cruelty. Over the years, they have worked hard to care for cats and dogs, becoming a much-loved charity. Now, on their 200-year anniversary, it is time for the RSPCA to drop the Assured Scheme and restore trust, both with the general public and with the animals they claim to protect.
Please join us, Chris Packham and thousands of others in calling for the RSPCA leadership to drop the Assured Scheme and return to its original mission of protecting all animals.