RSPCA Education
The RSPCA has an international reputation for its professional expertise in preventing animal cruelty, promoting human kindness and alleviating suffering. In 2013, the RSPCA prosecuted 1,371 adults under the Animal Welfare Act and 88 resulted in prison sentences and 220 in suspended sentences. The RSPCA is the largest private prosecutor after the CPS and has a 98% success rate. However, our mission is to prevent animal cruelty and change human attitudes and behaviour and we recognise the importance of rehabilitation and restorative or reparative approaches. Over the past four years, the charity has built up a widely respected programme of training and online resources. Working closely with the RSPCA’s inspectorate and prosecution services, the education team have developed an intervention programme for adults who have been convicted of animal cruelty offences which aims to address deficits in consequential thinking skills and empathy and to improve understanding of animal needs.