Independent Review into RSPCA Assured
An independent review by Crowe of 200 RSPCA Assured farms has found that the scheme is ‘operating effectively’ to assure animal welfare on member farms. The RSPCA has now commissioned two independent reviews of the scheme in the space of four years, both of which show that RSPCA Assured is making a real difference to millions of farmed animals’ lives right now. This reflects RSPCA Assured's own data from visiting nearly 4,000 farms in the last year.
This review provides our supporters and the public with further confidence that RSPCA Assured is actively improving the lives of millions of farmed animals. We want a world where RSPCA Assured isn’t needed any more but right now it is the last line of defence for far too many of the most vulnerable and exploited animals. There are more than a billion animals being farmed in the UK every year, the majority of whom are in low welfare systems, with an appalling lack of legal protection.
No one else is doing this work; RSPCA Assured is the only organisation setting and regularly monitoring animal welfare standards on farms. Improving farmed animal welfare is hard, but RSPCA Assured has the experience and insight to influence the government, and the food and farming industry to drive critical changes to legislation and practice, as well as raising the bar for the whole farming industry.
An ambitious modernisation programme for RSPCA Assured is already underway. This includes significantly increased unannounced visits and further exploring the use of technology, such as body-worn cameras and CCTV, to give comprehensive and real-time welfare insights.