Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
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| Charity | |
| Industry | Animal welfare |
| Founded | 1839 |
| Headquarters | Scotland |
| Website | scottishspca |
The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (also known as the Scottish SPCA and SSPCA) is a charity to promote animal welfare in Scotland.
It was founded in Edinburgh in 1839 and one of its first aims was to improve the welfare of cart-horses. Over the next century and a half, the charity grew and merged with other local SPCAs, such as the Dundee SPCA, Glasgow and West of Scotland SPCA and Aberdeen SPCA.
The Scottish SPCA opened its first centre in Mansfield, Balerno, in 1930. It acted as a Rest Farm for Horses which provided many working horses and ponies a period of rest before being returned to work. It now has 12 animal rescue centres which treat over 12,000 animals a year, with its headquarters and animal helpline based in Dunfermline, Fife.
As an animal welfare charity, the society receives no government or lottery funding and rely on public donations to continue their vital work rescuing and rehoming Scotland's abandoned, neglected and defenceless animals.
The Scottish SPCA is, uniquely, a specialist reporting agency to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. This enables it to lay reports for prosecutions, given there is no effective system of private prosecution in Scotland. This power is coupled with the designation of the Scottish SPCA's inspectors under section 49(2)(a) of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, which enables SSPCA Inspectors to exercise powers of entry, search, seizure and issue of binding notices under the Act, such as "care notices". The Scottish SPCA is the only animal welfare organisation in Great Britain to have such powers. Scottish SPCA Inspectors save thousands of domestic, farm and wild animals from harm and danger every year, while their vets and staff in their wildlife and animal rescue and rehoming centres look after, rehabilitate and rehome thousands more.
In promoting prevention of cruelty, the Scottish SPCA is unique in running a free visiting education service for schools, tying in extensively with the Scottish curriculum. Since devolution, the Scottish SPCA has been at the forefront of campaigning in the Scottish Parliament for improved animal protection laws in Scotland and were prominent advisors on the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill which obtained Royal Assent in May 2006.
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