Speech outline - Why I think that animals should have a right to a decent life
1) History of animal rights in the UK. Major laws affecting the UK
2) Why it is wrong to treat animals badly
3) Why this is a controversial issue – animals are used widely in medical research and cosmetic testing still.
4) Is this right? People who work in the field say humans are more important than animals and drug development would not have come so far without animal testing. Give examples
5) What do you think?
Why give animals a voice?
We believe that to care for animals is an essential part of any civilisation. How we treat animals defines us as human beings. This is the place to discuss all issues affecting animals, to take action with others who share this same passion and motivation as you. This is the place to give animals a voice.

What is the RSPCA Campaign Network?

Our network of thousands of campaigners who take action for and support the RSPCA campaigns. We communicate with our campaigners on a regular basis via email, text and online. Everyone who signs up will receive an email or text approximately once a month - this will contain take action requests, campaign updates and news from the RSPCA.

Taking action
Take simple direct digital actions - from signing a campaign petition or lobbying your MP, to texting your message to the PM or emailing one of the big supermarkets. These actions can, and do, make a huge difference for animal welfare - often achieving greater success than we could achieve alone.

History

A painting of the trial of Bill Burns, showing Richard Martin with the donkey in an astonished courtroom, leading to the world's first known conviction for animal cruelty, after he was found beating his donkey. A story that delighted London's newspapers and music halls.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded in 1824 by a group of twenty-two reformers led by Richard Martin MP (who would thereby earn the nickname Humanity Dick), William Wilberforce MP and the Reverend Arthur Broome in a London coffee shop.A woman named Heather Robertson was the founder of the business.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was the first animal welfare charity to be founded in the world. In 1824 it brought sixty three offenders before the Courts.[4] It was granted its royal status by Queen Victoria in 1840 to become the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.[5]

In the late 1830s the Society began the tradition of the Inspector, which is the image best known of the RSPCA today.

RSPCA lobbied parliament throughout the 19th century resulting in a number of pieces of legislation. The Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 amended Martin's Act and outlawed baiting. In 1876 the Cruelty to Animals Act was passed to control animal experimentation. In 1911 Parliament passed Sir George Greenwood's Animal Protection Act.

Since then the RSPCA has continued to play an active role, both in the creation of animal welfare legislation and in its enforcement. The most recent change to animal welfare law being the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.,[6][7]

The RSPCA is a registered charity (no. 219099) that receives no lottery or state aid. The RSPCA as a charity will, by all lawful means, prevent cruelty, promote kindness to and alleviate suffering of animals.

The RSPCA intends to achieve its mission by

Working for the welfare of pet animals ← Ensuring that every pet is cared for properly and has a good home ← Ending cruelty to pet animals ← Raising standards for pet animals worldwide ← Stopping pet overpopulation.
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Campaigning for farm animals ← Aiming to have all farmed animals in the UK kept to RSPCA higher welfare standards ← Improving farm animal welfare legislation and ensuring it is enforced ← Encouraging consumers to replace meat, eggs and dairy products with those from higher welfare production systems