Is my pekin bantam male or female?

[Paola]

It doesnt come as a great surprise. I know all about the RSPCA through my mum working for the police. Basically theny dont give a stuff unless they have a TV camara pointed at them or they are getting money. My mum was a police comunications officer and one day she had a motorist call after hitting a dog, the dog was alive but needed medical attention, the owners were out when they tried to call teh number on the collar, and the RSPCA refused to treat or do anything for the dog untill they got the okay from the owners that they would pay the bill. The owners never made it home in time, after several agonising hours of the motorist waiting with the dog is died - In my eyes that and many other case my mum delt with make the RSPCA unhumane and heartless.

 

Another random McDonnalds thing which I found bizzare, is while I was in hospital last week they had a representative come round the ward and give out happy meal information and toys etc to the kids! I was shocked at this promotion of junk food in a hospital. I hate the way McDonnald does things like this and the RSPCA thing etc to try to make themselves appear an ethical and healthy company when they are not.

 

That does not surprise me about the poor dog I cannot believe that they would let McD in a hospital I am speechless

[The Dogmother]

Well, 2 days later, I got htis reply from them:

 

Thank you for your email. Please be assured that your comments havebeen noted and that your email is now receiving attention. You will receive a full response from us within the next few days.

Kind regards

RSPCA Enquiries Service

 

Hmm, I'm busy for the next few days, so depending on whether I hear back from them, I shall 'take it to the press' on Monday.

[mountainboarddude]

i say go for it, and well done for fighting for what you belive in.

[fairy&cake]

i wouldnt even give them til then!

 

its done now, and all youll get is a sorry!

 

"The mcdonaldsisation of society" is a good book on mc d , all about their ways of manipulating kids, marketing, etc etc etc

[The Dogmother]

Well, I finally got this reply from the RSPCA - what a load of twaddle! Not heard anything from the Daily Mail, which is disappointing:

 

Thank you for your email regarding your concern about the McDonald’s news story in the February/March 2008 issue of Animal Action. Firstly, let me apologise for any upset this may have caused you, and your daughter, but let me assure you that the RSPCA is more committed than ever before to animal welfare, and would never condone sub-standard animal welfare practices in any area of business.

 

It is our policy at the RSPCA to engage with businesses such as McDonalds to encourage them improve their standards in animal welfare. McDonald’s has notably made some significant progress in this area specifically regarding sourcing their beef and eggs. McDonald’s restaurants now only use free range eggs in their cooking * this also extends to their ingredients, for example mayonnaise. This is a major step forward and a good example for other businesses.

 

In addition, its beef is sourced from young beef cattle in the UK, which reduces the number of cattle exported live to the continent.

 

Furthermore, as a restaurant chain, McDonald’s was a finalist in the RSPCA’s Good Business Awards in 2007 for their use of only free range eggs in the UK.

 

The particular aim of the campaign behind ‘The Dog’ Happy Meal was to reduce the numbers of pets being bought as impulse purchases. Children can ‘pester’ parents into buying them a pet and this is what we want to avoid for the sake of the animal. McDonald’s is very popular with children so it allows us to get our message out to a vast number of children.

 

If the impulse purchase of pets is reduced and parents and children are more aware of responsible pet ownership then this campaign will have actively helped improve animal welfare. The Society does not wish to promote an unhealthy diet in any way * far from it * and feels a child’s eating habits should be guided by his or her parents or guardians. We are not endorsing ‘The Dog’ Happy Meal, but we will be evaluating the results of this campaign and whether confusion has been created around this issue of endorsement.

 

If this were the case, we would avoid such campaigns in the future. I hope this has helped clarify my position regarding McDonald’s.

 

Yours sincerely

Sarah Evans

Editor, Animal Action

 

Just serves to reinforce the RSPCA's very low rating in my opinions.

[Olly]

hmmm! Some very plausible excuses ... but it doesn't get around the fact that they are (a) encouraging children to eat at McDonalds which goes against most of the publicity and policies about healthy eating, and (b) endorsing a company which, while it may have improved its standards, still has a long way to go in the opinion of many people.

 

Note this all refers to the UK - I'm pretty sure that McD's have not switched their sources in all the other countries where they trade.

 

I am not surprised, was hardly expecting them to come back and say 'sorry, we got it wrong' but this is a bit of a weaselly answer.

[The Dogmother]

My thoughts too Olly. I think this will be Rosie's last subscription (she gets it from my folks), she was quite put out by it.

[Rhapsody]

I love the way using free-range eggs is a passport to welfare credibility with McD and by association in this case the RSPCA.

What about the pork/meat chicken/beef welfare standards? If I were to keep my dog in the same way the average pig is kept in the EU (is all their meat sourced in the UK? I doubt it) it would be taken away from me by the RSPCA (eventually) and I would be prosecuted (unless I were really really sorry).

[The Dogmother]

I'm left spitting mad by their response, and defence of their getting into bed with McDs. If I had more time, I'd really push this one to the limits and bother the national press more.