RSPCA PROSECUTION

RSPCA Prosecution and Conviction Figures, Obtained via Mr Charles Hendry MP, reveal that:

(a) the number of Defendants who appeal Magistrates' convictions is more than 26 times greater in RSPCA prosecutions than those progressed by the CPS; and

(b) the number of subsequent successful appeals at Crown Court is well over two times greater in RSPCA prosecutions than those progressed by the CPS.

These figures cause great concern, and their implications, in terms of financial costs, waste of human resources, court time and human misery, are appalling. It is a great pity that the RSPCA refused to make these figures public years ago so that the position could have been corrected.

Each case over and above the CPS norm absorbs court time and resources that are at a premium. It ties up members of the legal profession and expert witnesses, both defence and prosecution, all of whom have to be paid for, ultimately from public funds, whether via the legal aid budget, wasted RSPCA donations, awards from central funds or those few individuals who go so far as to sell their houses and everything they own to fund their defence.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmenvfru/52/4101318.htm