Where They Went Wrong . . . And Lost A Friend.
There are very few things to do with animal charities which Mummy would say are wrong but a few cases recently have highlighted parts that she doesn’t approve of or like. Whee know animal charities really could do without the bad press right now but this is important. Whee are not aiming this against all charities but some may need to change.
In a newspaper today was the case of a dog who was found by his owners body. There seems to be a rather public outcry about it but Mummy doesn’t really know what to think. You can read more about the story here and make up your own minds.
Another case was to do with another large animal charity here in the UK. The issue – spending a lot on court cases against fox hunting and whee do mean a lot of money. Mummy finds this complicated as although she does believe that these things need to be stopped she fails to see why animal charity donations must be used to deal with a legal situation. Mummy thinks that some donaters are feeling betrayed because they are not sure where their money is going. To court cases? To animal care? Or to funding the bigshots salaries?
Sounds harsh? Whee don’t mean to be. But whee think that people should have a say as to where their donations are going. Mummy would like to make donations specifically towards the care of mistreated animals. Maybe the big charities need to organise things with this. That is why she is now only donates to smaller charities. Charities where everything goes to the animals and no one is paid because it is all volunteers.
Well big hooman charities. This is where you went wrong, and I’m afraid you have lost a friend.
Please tell us what you think.
Nibbles, Nutty, Buddy & Basil
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Posted on January 13, 2013, in Piggy Blogs and tagged animal, animals, british, cavies, cavy, charity, guinea pig, guinea pigs, pet, pets, photo, photos, rodent, rodents, small furries, small furry, story, sweet. Bookmark the permalink. 37 Comments.
It sucks, we give donations to be spent on the animals not court cases. I won’t get started guy’s as I feel the same way as your Mommy. Oxfam do the same, most of the money goes on administration!!!! xx00xx
Mollie and Alfie
Glad to hear someone feels the same. Whee agonised over putting this up because whee weren’t sure how people would take it. It is very hard to know how people will feel.
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Lots of charities are like that. It’s difficult to know what’s best. That’s sad!
It is difficult to know what to do. Whee want to help animals but whee don’t want to have our small amount whee can give go on wages.
xxxx
I am afraid I have to agree. Where is all the money going? I used to be a Manager of a British Heart Foundation shop and they ran it more like a business than a charity, that is basically now what charity shops are, a business. We were charging more for a blouse than the customer would pay for a new one from QS, that was only about three doors away. The amount of items thrown away was not good, but they were not fit to be sold by our guidelines at that time and the Area Manager would visit and inspect. To be honest, the clothes that weren’t any good and there were a lot, were sent to be turned into rags and then the shop did get money for them, so it was good that they weren’t going to just be binned. I went to my local RSPCA charity shop before Christmas and one of the volunteers told me that a lot gets binned.
One of our little hoomans volunteers in a hospice charity shop and he is always saying how much is thrown away or overpriced. Sad really. It is supposed to be for charity.
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Charity is BIG BUSINESS! There is a lot of money in it. Money goes to support their infrastructures and keeping their BUSINESS going. Personally, I prefer to donate close to home or where I know the money will be used for the purpose it was given.
Exactly. Which is why whee are only really helping little charities now, however controversial that may seem to some it feels better morally.
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I don’t know about elsewhere, but when you get a solicitation from a charity (especially when they phone you), in the US you have a right to ask how much actually goes to the charity and how much to the professional fund raiser and get a truthful answer. Hold on to your hats because the answer is often 80% or more. That’s 80% or more of what you give goes not to the charity, but to the boiler room people that are soliciting you. Know your charity and give directly to them. We give to the local no-kill shelter. 100% goes to what we want it to go to.
It is shocking seeing those figures. Whee are not sure about here in the UK, but whee reckon most of the big charities are like that.
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Oh you made me cry. It is so sad when money does not go to the places that it should, so your Mom is right to donate where she feels that the best work can be done. How come there were no Guinea Pigs in the video? They need homes too. Thanks folks.
They do need homes but whee could not find a video about them with the right music.
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What a shame.
Before Hubby and I got married we talked about charitable giving and came up with the following list:
– organizations that fervently share the Gospel
– organizations that cloth, feed, or shelter the elderly
– as requested in someone’s final wishes
Once in a while we make an exception but we always talk about it first. We get hit up for money everyday in the mail, on the phone, from relatives….the list is endless. We had to come up with some sort of “rules” about giving. Also, we always go to a website called “Charity Navigator”. They tell you EXACTLY where the money goes and how the charity ranks in terms of performance.
Whee wish there was something like that in the UK. It would be nice to see exactly how the money is being spent.
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I’m with your mum sweeties. I want to make sure the money goes towards what I want it to go towards. I have a friend who did a spay & neuter and TNR session with some ferals. That’s where the money went. Also I was happy to get one of the foster children from the spay and neuter care. =^..^=
Mummy makes donations towards lots of different causes but she feels hurt to hear they sometimes go on court cases instead of animal care. Court cases should not need animal charity donations to fund them.
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I don’t think they should spend it in court if moneys were given for the intent of caring for shelter animals.
Exactly. That’s what whee want.
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You’re right, supporting small, local charities is great and there’s a greater chance that more of your donated money will reach the intended target. The big charities are needed though as you have to have them fighting for the bigger picture.
Whee do understand these big charities need to fight big cases but they should tell donators that their money is going towards court cases not the care of shelter animals.
xxxx
I guess we all have to be careful and investigate where our money is going so that we can take responsibility. If we are happy for it to go to fight fox-hunting okay then, but if we want to support homeless dogs and other animals it sounds like the smaller, local shelters which we know are better.
Whee do oppose fox hunting and have signed petitions against it but, as you say, whee want to help shelter animals and know that is what our money is paying for.
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In general I agree with you, not enough of the money given to charity ends up where it should.
In the case of the Daily Mail article about Wood Green, I tend to believe Wood Green’s side of the story. We used to live near enough to Wood Green to visit them regularly and they do excellent work.
Whee do think that Wood Green does some great work and whee saw their fabulous talks and display at the London Pet Show but whee do wonder why they made such a choice.
Too many charities are putting animals down simply because they are not going to be easy to rehome.
xxxx
opp the background of flowers is flashing for some unknown reason on my Mac. Hope it is a problem on my computer. Have a marvelous Monday.
Best wishes Molly
Flashing?? Oh dear! It is supposed to sparkle a little.
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I think that’s an important point – if I donate something, then I want to help someone who’s in need. Sadly there are a lot of things, not only the court cases, which are paid with donated money. Think, that’s bad. ( fortunately fox hunting isn’t allowed here, only draghunting)
Fox hunting is supposed to be banned here too! That is why they were prosicuting!
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Our local rescue centre (Mutts in Distress) is fit to bursting, they physically don’t have room to take on any more animals, they are on the verge of collapse:-( The money they get actually pays for the vet bills the dogs bring with them and the cost of feeding and housing them.
I’ve heard many stories about charitable money not going on animal welfare in the past. I was surprised it was Wood Green that were highlighted in that story though as generally they are regarded to be very good. The RSPCA on the other hand is a very different matter…
It is shocking, isn’t it? Mummy says that she thinks that all charities should disclose their spending, whether it is on salaries, animals or court cases.
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I have to agree with you guy’s giving to small charities is all ways best all the others are big coperate bullys,its shameful what happened to that dog with a bit of loving care he would have been back to normal in no time…Shameful!! xxSpeedy’s mum
Whee don’t know that for sure but whee do think maybe they should have given it more time or attempted to consult the family. It just seems a little rushed is all.
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I lost faith in the big charities when I found out they didn’t really care about piggies and rabbits 😦 Now the only animal charity I support is Avalon Guinea Pig Rescue in Nottingham, UK. I will only get my piggies from there, now that I’ve seen the place. 6 of my 7 piggies are from there. They came from some awful circumstances, but the lady that runs the rescue takes any piggy that needs help. She nurses them back to health and looks after them until they get a new home. And she relies purely on donations and often has to pay out of her own pocket. These sort of places only use the money to help care for the animals.
Whee have not heard of Avalon Guinea Pig Rescue. It is great that they take any piggy in need. Some smaller rescues refuse to take ex breeder piggies because of their morals. It is important to remember why rescues are there. It should just be for the animals.
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I prefer to donate to the smaller charities. Somehow that feels much safer, and I hope my money will be used for the good.
Our point exactly!
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