Our pre-roll animation competition deadline has been extended until Monday, 17 January 2011.
We have given more time for entries to allow tutors to incorporate our animation competition into their students’ coursework in response to requests.
This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your talent on our website and a fun way to support your favourite animal welfare charity by promoting what we do.
How to enter
It’s free to enter, all you have to do is create an animation that portrays animals acting naturally and send it to us meeting the following criteria.
Animation entries must:
be submitted in .flv format and be no larger than 100MB
be a maximum of 15 seconds long
have an aspect ratio of 16:9 – which can be viewed at full screen
To find out more about what we are looking for and to read the full terms and conditions visit: animation competition 2010
The winner
The winning entry will be shown on our website and will receive our top prize; an autographed original framed drawing, and two autographed Simon's Cat books generously donated by Simon Tofield, the creator of the popular animated online series Simon's Cat.
Entries will be judged by Simon Tofield and representatives from our press and online departments. The winner will be notified by Monday, 28 February 2011 and will then be announced on our website.
Previous winner
The winner of the 2009 animation competition was Chloe Tartinville, a student at Maidstone UCA (University for the Creative Arts).
You can see Chloe's winning animation and find out what inspired her idea on our previous winner page.
We're appealing for your help in finding those responsible for a vicious attack on a goat at Tennyson Horse and Pony Sanctuary in Middleton, Manchester.
Sidney, a 19-year-old black pygmy goat, was found with his horns pulled out, one leg broken in two places and another dislocated.
His injuries were so horrific that, sadly, Sidney had to be put to sleep by a vet.
The senseless attack took place sometime between 8pm on Thursday, 26 August and midday on Friday, 27 August at Tennyson Horse and Pony Sanctuary in Tennyson Road, Middleton, Manchester, where Sidney had happily lived for around 10 years.
RSPCA Inspector Caroline Hall said:
This is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty I have ever seen.
She continued: "It was dreadful - Sidney had two huge caverns in his head where his horns had been ripped out and he was dripping in blood.
"A vet examined Sidney, and because he was so badly injured, it was kindest to end his suffering and put him to sleep."
'Sidney was like a member of the family'
Co-owner of the sanctuary, John Starkey, said Sidney was like a member of the family and will be missed.
He was so friendly with people he knew, but he probably would have run away from strangers.
We can't believe anyone would carry out such a barbaric act.
Lots of people who live around here used to come and feed Sid and will be very upset to hear what has happened to him.
Can you help?
Appealing for information about the attack, Inspector Hall added:
Sidney has lived happily at the sanctuary for about ten years and there doesn't seem to be any reason why anyone would attack him in this cruel way.
A fence was damaged, but no other animals were harmed and nothing appears to have been stolen.
Those responsible for this dreadful attack would probably have gone home muddy and covered in blood.
If you have any information at all about this incident, then please get in touch as soon as possible.
If you have any information at all, no matter how insignificant you think it might be, please leave a message for Inspector Caroline Hall on the RSPCA 24-hour cruelty line: 0300 1234 999. All calls are treated in the strictest confidence.
A cat who strayed more than 200 miles from home has been reunited with her owner thanks to a microchip.
When elderly black-and-white cat Kitty went missing from her home in Preston, Lancashire, five months ago, her owners feared the worst.
Despite dedicated efforts to track down their beloved pet, Kitty was not found.
However, luck was on Kitty's side when a member of the public found a stray cat in Brimsdown, Middlesex, and took her to our Enfield and District Branch.
After scanning for a microchip, the branch tracked down her owner, who was overjoyed to find out that long lost Kitty was alive and well.
'I would recommend microchipping to all pet owners'
After nearly five months apart, Kitty and owner Pat Gibson were reunited on Friday, 27 August and the pair have been welcoming visitors ever since.
Mrs Gibson said:
It really is remarkable, it's like having her back from the dead.
I was terribly upset when she disappeared as I just didn't know what had happened to her - we still don't.
I never expected her to have travelled so far away, it's amazing. But she has settled in back at home already – she immediately remembered which cupboard I keep her food in!
I would recommend microchipping to all pet owners.
Kitty could have been lost forever
Mrs Gibson adopted Kitty from the RSPCA after she had been tied in a sack and dumped in a car park.
Enfield and District branch secretary, Margaret Marden, said: “This story has a very happy ending and it is proof indeed of the importance of microchipping your pet.”
The RSPCA encourages owners to have their pets microchipped as we believe microchipping is the most reliable way of finding your pet if it is lost or stolen.
The quick and painless procedure places a small chip, the size of a grain of rice, under the animal's skin. The owner's details and a special code are stored on the chip and can be revealed by a special scanner carried by RSPCA inspectors and routinely used in our branches and animal centres.
Around half a million animals have been microchipped in the last five years alone.
An annual dog licence fee of as little as £21.50 could help reduce the number of strays and help tackle irresponsible dog breeding, according to a new RSPCA report released today (Wednesday, 1 September 2010).
Owners would face a cost of less than 42p a week per dog – less than the price of an average chocolate bar – in order to provide huge improvements to dog welfare and dog control services.
The report reveals a licensing scheme could deliver resources to improve dog welfare worth in excess of £107.4 million.
With an estimated 10 million dogs in Britain, this works out at £21.50 per dog with a compliance rate of 50 per cent. A compliance rate of 75 per cent would work out even less at £14.30 per dog.*
The report's recommendations
The new report - Improving dog ownership: The economic case for dog licensing - was written by RSPCA director of communications, David Bowles, and is based on research by Reading University, which was commissioned by the Society.
It makes three recommendations in its conclusion.
The government should establish a dog health and welfare strategy underpinned and funded by a dog licence scheme. This would fund resources to tackle the issues, such as strays, injuries caused by dog bites, and the prevention of disease, as covered in the report.
The scheme could be set at £20-£30 per dog annually, with discounts for selected dogs (e.g. assistance dogs, neutered dogs) and people (e.g. pensioners).
Microchips would be used to identify the dogs, with details entered on a national database, improving dog ownership and reducing numbers of unwanted dogs.
Dog licensing would achieve three important goals
Now is the right time to invest in the future health and welfare of Britain's dogs.
David continued: "A dog licence would raise money which could be targeted into improving enforcement of laws at a local level, improve the welfare of dogs, and reverse the use of certain breeds of dogs as a status symbol or weapon."
He says the dog licence would achieve three important goals. It would:
raise money for dog welfare
increase the numbers of responsible dog owners by getting people to think before they get a dog
start to reverse the surplus of dogs on the market by providing incentives, such as reduced fees for neutering dogs.
He added that the costs are given as an indication of what the licence fee could cover, and a dog licensing scheme could in reality be set at between £20-30 per dog per year – between only three and four per cent of the annual costs of owning a typical breed of dog.
Two out of every three British dog owners welcome a dog licence
Twenty-three countries in Europe currently have a dog licence or registration scheme. In some countries, such as Germany, Slovenia and the Netherlands, there have been improved dog control provisions and low numbers of strays with compliance rates of more than 50 per cent.
David said:
The RSPCA believes that Britain has slipped behind other countries which have started to tackle and solve the problems of dog over supply, and only the introduction of a dog licence could ensure we catch up.
In countries which have a dog licence it is seen not as a tax, but as an important part of owning a dog.
In Britain we know that a dog licence is welcomed by two out of every three dog owners, more than 70 per cent of whom are happy to pay more than £30 for the pleasure and responsibility of owning a dog.
An amazing three-day photography break with one of the world's best wildlife photographers is up for grabs for the winner of the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards (YPA) 2010.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year category winner Danny Green, who runs Natures Images along with Mark Sisson, will join this year's overall YPA winner and pass on some of his expertise during the annual deer rut in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire.
Hundreds of entries have already poured in for YPA, which is one of the country's most prestigious photography competitions for under 19s. But there is still time to put your snaps in the frame to win some amazing prizes.
Be in with a chance of winning some of the best prizes yet
YPA is offering its best prizes to date. The overall competition winner will receive:
£1,000 worth of Olympus camera kit
three-day photography break courtesy of Natures Images.
And there's more...
As if all this wasn’t enough, the YPA category winners will pick up some fantastic new cameras at the final of this year's awards, sponsored by Olympus and Warners Midlands, at HM Tower Of London on Friday, 10 December.
And the winners of the under 12s and 12-18s categories will get to enjoy an exclusive photoshoot at an RSPCA centre with our very own award-winning photographer Andrew Forsyth, as well as a top Olympus camera.
Categories also include the Olympus portfolio prize, where photographers get to showcase several images on a consistent theme, and the pet personalities section which is the perfect chance to frame your furry friends.
About last year's winner
Last year’s overall winner, Ryan Edwards, from Woodbridge in Suffolk, joined Andrew at our East Winch Wildlife Centre to photograph the release of rehabilitated seals back into their natural habitat.
As well as picking up some top tips from Andrew, Ryan was able to put them into practice and get plenty of his own stunning images from a memorable day out with the RSPCA team, like the picture on the left of one of the seals.
YPA could be your gateway into photography
YPA has become a recognised launch pad for aspiring photographers to showcase their work, gain recognition from industry professionals and be rewarded for the talent they have developed.
It has now gained a reputation as prestigious as many leading adult photography competitions.
Entries will be shortlisted by the judging panel, including BBC Countryfile and The One Show presenter Matt Baker. He said:
I can't wait to see the great entries that have been submitted for this year's competition.
It has been a fantastic summer to be out and about, so I am looking forward to seeing lots of sunny and happy pictures ofpets and wildlife and meeting the winners at the awards ceremony in December.
Enter now - there's still time!
Postal entries have now closed, but you can still enter the competition and upload your photos on our official YPA website: www.rspca.org.uk/ypa
Here you'll find full details of the award categories, prizes and rules. Plus browse our past winners' galleries, get photography tips, and watch our YPA video from last year's awards ceremony at HM Tower of London.
But hurry - the closing date for online entries is midnight on Monday, 6 September 2010.
And maybe this year it could be you picking up a winner's prize from Matt Baker...
A north London man has been banned from keeping dogs for five years after he was convicted of training a dog to fight following an investigation by covert RSPCA inspectors.
Bilal Mohammed Aldeeb was convicted of dog fighting charges following a trial in which the court was shown horrific footage of the defendant goading dogs to fight in a yard believed to be somewhere in Jordan.
Convicted of connections with animal fighting
Aldeeb could not be prosecuted for fighting the dogs in the footage as the incidents took place outside of England and Wales. However, he was given the five-year-ban, ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and must pay £500 costs after the footage was used to prove he had an interest in dog fighting.
Earlier this month, Aldeeb was convicted of keeping and training a red-and-white pit bull terrier type dog named Rhino for use in connection with an animal fight. He was also found guilty of possession of a weighted collar, which is used to train dogs in connection with animal fighting.
Aldeeb had already admitted possession of a pit bull terrier type dog contrary to the Dangerous Dogs Act. The court also issued a forfeiture order on the weighted collar and the tapes seized from Aldeeb’s home, as well as a destruction order on Rhino.
One charge against Aldeeb, of causing unnecessary suffering to Rhino by failing to provide the animal veterinary care for injuries caused by a fight with another animal, was dismissed by the court at an earlier hearing.
Cruelty of dog fighting
Chief Inspector Mike Butcher, of our special operations unit, said:
The footage seized from Aldeeb’s home was particularly graphic, but it also clearly showed him fighting dogs. Anyone who saw the film could have been in no doubt as to this man’s interest in illegal dog fighting.
If anyone questions the brutality of dog fighting and the terrible cruelty these poor animals suffer at the hands of dog fighters, they only have to watch this footage to see the shocking reality.
Just because this footage was filmed overseas, it doesn’t mean the RSCPA doesn’t take it seriously and we are delighted the court also appreciated the seriousness of Aldeeb’s actions and sentenced him accordingly.
Duty of care
Aldeeb was charged under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which gives all animal owners a duty of care to ensure the five welfare needs of their animals are being met.
Find out more about the welfare needs of dogs, and the duty of care owners are required to meet, in our dog pages.
Are you a young RSPCA supporter aged between five and 16? Have you done something special and caring for animals? Then just maybe you're Britain's Kindest Kid!
Five News and Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) want to recognise the amazing charitable work of children and are in search of Britain's Kindest Kid 2010.
We have many young supporters and, if you are one of them, we want you to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic competition.
Promoting kindness to animals
Our vision is to work for a world in which all humans respect and live in harmony with all other members of the animal kingdom, and part of our mission to achieve this is to promote kindness to all animals.
Being a young RSPCA supporter, there are many ways you may have shown your kindness to animals. Maybe you have:
adopted a pet from one of our rescue centres and given an animal a second chance at life
raised vital funds for us through a sponsored event, or through donating some of your hard-earned pocket money.
Whatever the reason, we think you deserve to be recognised and rewarded for all the special and caring things you do in aid of animal welfare, no matter how big or small, and all the animals you help think so too!
Enter now!
An amazing prize for an amazing winner
The winner of this extraordinary competition will receive:
a cool £1,000 pocket money (don't think it will all fit in your pocket, though!)
a further £1,000 in Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) vouchers to give to your favourite charities
an appearance on Five News.
So for a chance of being recognised as Britain's Kindest Kid 2010 and inspiring others to follow your lead, simply nominate yourself, or someone you know, by filling in the online entry form at:
Remember, to enter this competition you must be between five and 16 years old, and you will need to provide details of a supporting adult on the entry form.
Closing date for entries is 5pm on Monday, 4 October 2010.
Some of the UK’s largest animal charities, law enforcement agencies and unions have today jointly called on the leaders of the main political parties to work together to introduce improved and updated legislation to protect dog welfare and public safety.
The 20 groups have come together to demand action against irresponsible dog owners by the government and the provision of necessary resources for those tasked with policing dog control laws.
This comes ahead of the summary of responses from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) consultation on dog legislation, which is expected this autumn.
The Defra consultation received more than 4,000 responses by the time it closed in June, indicating the scale of interest in the subject.
The following statement will be sent to Prime Minister David Cameron MP, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg MP and acting leader of the opposition Harriet Harman MP.
It reads:
We believe that irresponsible dog ownership, whether it is allowing dogs to stray, be dangerously out of control or indiscriminately breeding them, causes significant problems for the safety and welfare of both humans and animals.
Current legislation is proving inadequate in many cases to ensure sufficient protection.
We believe that both the provision of sufficient resources at a local level for local authorities and the police, and updated and consolidated legislation that has a genuine preventative effect, are needed to address this problem.
We call on the coalition government to act and bring forward legislation that addresses these areas effectively.
Organisations signed up to the statement include:
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, The Blue Cross, The British Horse Society, British Veterinary Association (BVA), Chartered Institute for Environmental Health (CIEH), Communication Workers Union (CWU), Dogs Trust, GMB (Britain's General Union), Guide Dogs for the Blind, International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM), The Kennel Club, The Mayhew Animal Home, National Dog Warden Association (NDWA), PDSA (People's Dispensary for Sick Animals), Police Federation, Prospect, RSPCA, TUC (Trades Union Congress), UNISON, Unite the union.
Find out more about our political and campaigning work for animal welfare:
Senior scientists have criticised a new report on the welfare of zoo elephants, which in part could be as poor as that of broiler chickens and dairy cattle from intensive farms.
They said the study, which was published on Thursday, 19 August, should have called for an outright ban on importing anymore elephants into UK zoos.
Serious welfare prolems
The report from the Zoos' Forum, an independent body set up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), reviews recent research from Bristol University which found serious and extensive welfare problems in UK zoo elephants.
As well as having a far shorter lifespan and higher infant mortality rate than wild elephants, those kept in UK zoos suffer from high levels of obesity, behavioural abnormalities and a level of lameness equivalent to that endured by intensively farmed livestock, recognised internationally as cause for great welfare concern.
Senior RSPCA scientist Dr Ros Clubb said:
We are extremely disappointed that the report did not recommend an outright ban on importing elephants to UK zoos.
The RSPCA believes that until solutions to the extensive and serious welfare problemscan be found we should not be introducing more elephants.
Elephants are without question suffering in zoos. They are one of the highest animal welfare concerns in Europe. Their levels of lameness are on a par to those seen in intensively farmed dairy cattle or broiler chickens.
Adding yet more elephants to an ailing population simply masks the problems and if drastic improvements to these problems cannot be found, the RSPCA believes zoos should phase out elephant keeping.
Ros added that:
"The RSPCA does support the report’s recommendation to establish an independent advisory group which would monitor the welfare of elephants in zoos. It feels that it is vital this advisory group is independent and it should draw on expertise from outside the zoo world."
RSPCA animal shelters throughout England and Wales are inundated with cats and kittens in desperate need of new homes.
Many of our rehoming centres are completely full of felines who have been recklessly dumped by their owners or rescued by RSPCA inspectors.
Although this time of year is the peak birthing season for cats, lots of our centres are looking after more cats and kittens than ever before.
Since the beginning of 2009, an average of 21 cats have been taken in every single day at our 16 regional animal centres, with our other independent branches and shelters suffering a similar plight.
Many of the animals are being kept in private boarding or in foster homes as our centres are simply too full. New owners are desperately needed to provide permanent, loving homes for them.
Just some of our centres that are inundated with cats
Our Central and North East London Branch is currently looking after more than 100 cats and kittens, including Bonnie and Clyde opposite, which has hit centre staff both emotionally and financially.
Branch spokesperson Christine Kerridge said:
So many people are letting their cats get pregnant without giving any thought to how they will find good homes for the kittens.
We are left to pick up the pieces. We really need new owners to come forward to give a second chance to the many delightful cats who are without a permanent home through no fault of their own.
Our Enfield and District Branch is looking after around 90 cats and kittens - which is more than it has had at any one time over the last 35 years.
Enfield branch secretary Margaret Marden said:
It's really dreadful at the moment, this is the worst I have ever seen the situation.
It's so hard for us to see all these beautiful cats and kittens without the homes they deserve.
Our Putney Animal Hospital is bursting at the seams with cats who have been involved in road traffic accidents, abandoned or suffered a variety of injuries.
But with rehoming centres full to capacity, many animals are spending more time at the hospital or with foster carers while they wait for new homes.
Our Little Valley Animal Shelter in Exeter is currently looking after 42 cats despite only having space for 32. And the shelter is still getting regular requests from the public and RSPCA inspectors to accommodate even more.
Because our Bryn-y-Maen Animal Centre in North Wales is completely full, four white kittens found abandoned in a box in Colwyn Bay are being cared for by fosterers while centre staff desperately search for permanent homes.
Please consider a rescue cat
We're urging people thinking about getting a cat or a kitten to avoid answering ads in newspapers or visiting pet shops, and to consider adopting a rescue animal who desperately needs a new home.
Our rehoming process aims to make sure cat and owner are suitably matched.
We recommend that cats are neutered to prevent unwanted pregnancies from occurring, and if you do rehome a young cat or kitten from the RSPCA, the adoption fee usually includes the neutering operation, microchipping, a full veterinary check, worming and flea treatments, and any vaccinations the animal may require.
Find out more
If you'd like to find out more about the cats at our branches and centres mentioned above, simply follow the links above to contact the centres directly.
You can find more cats and kittens who are having particular trouble finding new homes in our special appeals.
And you can also use our pet search to find animals for adoption in your area.
Links
