The Dissensions in the R.S.P.C.A.
ANIMAL lovers out of touch with the internal working of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have been depressed-recently by the unedifying spectacle of constant wrangling at the meetings of the Society. At the annual meeting held at the Central Buildings, Westminster, last week, an ordinary member did not overstate the position when she said, " How could she secure subscriptions for the Society while they were fighting like cats and dogs ? " There appear to be two groups on the Council seeking to. gain control of the Society, apart from the many side currents of opinion. There is one group which is so much occupied with the tactics of its opponents_that it has little time for devoting itself to the urgent work waiting to be done. There is another group consisting of those who are generally termed " extreme humanitarians," who think that the R.S.P.C.A. should swing to the left, and who are anxious to capture the " machine."
We have no desire to write anything that will be hurtful to the many splendid workers of the. Society throughout the country, nor to reflect in any way on the activities of the managerial staff ; our remarks are addressed to those members of the Council whose discussions have attracted so much attention in the Press.
The result of these attacks and counter-attacks and of .the mimeographed memoranda which are being culated by interested parties is that the lay mind genuinely concerned about the welfare of animals and about the good name of our oldest Animal Protection Society is gravely disturbed. The cause of urgent reform is being hampered owing to these internal differences. We would ask all members of the R.S.P.C.A. among our readers, and we know that their number is considerable, to forget their internal dissensions and personal antipathies, to close their ranks and press forward together in attacking abuses that there is some chance of ending. When we consider the whole field of reform that is urgently awaiting attention, we are impressed with the magnitude of the task which confronts animal lovers : these constant bickerings at headquarters are a matter of grave concern to the ordinary member.
In reviewing our treatment of the animal kingdom there are several urgent problems on which we are all agreed and on which we should concentrate efforts. There is the introduction, long overdue, of the humane killer, not only for cattle, but for sheep and pigs ; as the debate in Parliament two weeks since showed, Scotland is here leading the way, but it is satisfactory to know that the R.S.P.C.A. has largely helped in this campaign. Legislation should be introduced forthwith to make humane slaughter compulsory throughout Great Britain and a system of licensing slaughter-men should be put into operation similar to that in force in Northern Europe, and the private slaughter-house should be abolished at an early date. Only when our abattoirs are under municipal or other public control will the chief abuses of the present system be got rid of.
In the autumn the Spectator published several articles on the subject of the Jewish method of killing cattle. Unfortunately, just when we hoped that the Jewish community would adopt a humane machine for casting the animal prior to slaughter, unexpected mechanical difficulties occurred and the proposed machine failed to pass the test. We hope, however, that the engineering and mechanical difficulties will be overcome before long. In any event, we desire to express our appreciation of the open-minded manner in which the Board of the Schechita showed its readiness to investigate the suitability of the invention.
Other subjects on which the members of all animal societies should unite are the enforcement and tightening up of the Plumage Bill. Continued agitation should be carried on against the export of old horses to the Continent ; the demand for the abolition of the steel trap, so largely used by rabbit trappers in this country, should be pressed forward. They should co-operate with the Steel Trap League of the United States which is doing excellent work in rousing North American opinion against the cruelties of the fur trade. The inauguration of an active publicity campaign against rabbit coursing, hunting the carted stag, the digging of foxes, the hunting of otters heavy with young, the caging of British birds, and the creation of a healthy, public sentiment against confining wild animals in small unhygienic cages, such as are to be found in many zoological gardens, are all matters needing attention.
We think that an agreement could be reached on these subjects by all sections of animal lovers. Their desire to serve the cause of the humane treatment of animals, for which their societies were founded, will in the last resort be judged by the manner in which they subordinate their personal feelings for the good of the cause,
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