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I am Elizabeth Drummond from Liverpool in the UK. I am a student reading for a degree in Microbiology. I love animals and I would like another dog to join the family. However, it wouldn’t be fair to the dog as I am hardly ever home. I live with my parents and an older brother. We have a number of fish in the garden, one of which is called Mick after Mick Jagger because it has big red lips. There are also Zig and Zag, who have also been with us since we first crossed the pond. Other than the fish we have inherited from my Grandma a tortoise called Tony. He is in his prime!
 I have helped at animal welfare organizations before, including Tam O’Shanter’s Urban Farm in Birkenhead near Liverpool and also Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre in Crosby just outside Liverpool, both of which I’ll probably tell you about at another time. I would like to be more involved with Freshfields again. I used to dog walk for them and help out in other ways with the cattery and the wildlife department, but time restraints by my university degree course make it a lot harder to help out.
During my gap year between college and university, I went to South Africa to volunteer at Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre for a month. That was very much an experience!
I am planning on contributing to the Almost Home Dog Rescue of Ohio website by applying my love of writing to share my experiences of animal welfare, especially from the view of the other side of the Atlantic.
 In my local area of Merseyside and Cheshire, many of the animal welfare organizations are veterinary surgeries. Most organizations seem to be based in London. Organizations that I have come across in Merseyside are Animal Preservation & Protection Trust, Dogs Trust, Fight Against Animal Cruelty in Europe, Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre, Liverpool Cats Protection League, RSPCA, Shetland Rescue, Wirral Animal Welfare, Humane Education Society Animals Convalescent Home, People's Dispensary For Sick Animals, and The Heatons Animal Rescue Group. I will talk in depth about some of these later. Links to the organizations that I talk about can be found at the end of the article.
When researching US organizations, I found that they are totally different organizations to those in the UK. Even in the UK alone, there seem to be so many different organizations that I can’t help but wonder how much time is wasted. Obviously it depends on what tasks each organization is doing, as Freshfields working locally can’t be compared with a similar organisation in London. Freshfields is one of my favourites because it is very small and local, concentrates on local issues, and gets the job done without excess administration or money going down the drain in other ways.
One aspect of interest I found was the RSPCA science group. This group uses respectable science information to help with animal welfare. There are four departments within the group: farm animals, research animals, wildlife, and companion animals. The group is based on the belief that “the change for the benefit of animals can best be achieved by committed, passionate, factually-based argument founded on a rational, scientifically justifiable framework of policies and goals”. The group also produces an annual review journal found at the above website.
Instead of the British RSPCA, in America there is the ASPCA. They seem to do similar work and it would be interesting to find out whether the two communicate. America also has the Animal Legal Defence fund who have, since 1979, protected the lives and interests of animals through the legal system. The closest equivalent in the UK is Conservative Animal Welfare, which is very politically one-sided so I will not talk about them any more.
Compassion in World Farming is another charity, aimed at supporting the best interests for farm animals. It is a European organisation, and to me came across as a bit different to the others. Another European charity that I would like to mention is FAACE (Fight Against Animal Cruelty in Europe). This organisation fights against practices such as blood fiestas, bullfighting, hare coursing, quail shooting, and the use of Spanish hunting dogs, which unfortunately are some of Europe’s negative aspects.
Dogs Trust, which has a centre in Merseyside near to where I live, is a UK charity concentrated on dogs, with rehoming and education being two key aspects of their work. They are the largest dog welfare charity in the UK. The equivalent for cats is Cats Protection.
PDSA is a veterinary charity in the UK providing free veterinary treatment to sick and injured animals. Most of the work involves fundraising because providing free veterinary treatment is very expensive. This is done by a number of methods, including shops, raffles, visa cards, and donations.
Phil Macnaghten in October 2001 researched public attitudes and sensibilities toward animals and biotechnology in contemporary Britain. He found that many people in Britain have close and affectionate relationships with animals, both in a domestic setting and in other settings. Also, there is a degree of hypocrisy between their personal behaviour around animals and their attitudes to animals involved in industry and scientific experiments. He also found a difference between people’s views on animal testing for medical research and their views on animal testing for cosmetics. People seem to have the view that medical research is more important than the animals tested (even though scientifically how a drug affects an animal will not necessarily be how the drug reacts with humans). There are large concerns over genetically modified animals; however, all views vary with the profession of the person. For example, farmers are more likely to see genetically modified animals as a positive.
In conclusion, from the information that I have researched, I have found that there is a massive range in animal welfare organizations, both in the UK and in the US. They can range from veterinary charities to charities concerned with farm animals. You also have the likes of the RSPCA, who are nationwide, to local charities similar to Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre. Comparing the UK with the US on the subject of attitudes, the two are similar. However, there is a difference in how these views are applied, which is why hens are in battery cages in a higher percentage in the US than in the UK. But as Phil Macnaghten showed, there is a great deal of hypocrisy in UK animal welfare attitudes.
Animal Protection Agency
 Guardian newspaper article, UK
DEFRA – Animal Health and Welfare
Farm Animal Welfare Council
The Poultry Site
Phil Macnaghten “Animal Futures” article (PDF)
RSPCA – “Improvements in farm animal welfare: the USA” article (PDF)
ASPCA
Wikipedia – List of animal welfare groups
RSPCA – Homepage
PDSA
Cats Protection
Freshfields Animal Rescue Centre
Conservative Animal Welfare |
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Elizabeth Drummond, Contributing Writer from Liverpool, UK.
