‘Let’s do this together’ says new RSPCA CVO

A senior charity vet has appealed for the professions to come together in a renewed drive to improve animal welfare despite the prospect of major reforms.

Newly appointed RSPCA CVO Charlotte Beckett said the sector can “achieve great things” even as regulatory and legislative changes progress.

But she also appealed for clinicians to engage in “pragmatic, animal welfare-based conversations upfront” to provide tailored care in each case.

In a new Vet Times podcast, she argued: “We have to have contextualised care as a given in all that we do. We cannot get away from that if we are to deliver true animal welfare.

“I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s not always easy. It can involve some really difficult conversations. But they’re conversations that we have to be having and we have to be having them as early in the process as we can for everybody’s sake.”

Controversy

Speaking after her appointment as the permanent successor to Caroline Allen was confirmed, Mrs Beckett suggested reforms envisaged by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) could help to deliver such a change, despite the enduring controversy surrounding the process.

She said: “Change is coming. We have to embrace it, so let’s try to and make that a positive outcome for animal welfare in doing so.

“Let’s do this together. We are all here to make things better for those animals under our care, so let’s see what we can do together. I genuinely believe we can achieve great things.”

Mrs Beckett also expressed support for the agenda of legislative reform, following the Government’s white paper on the issue in the summer.

‘Humane endpoint’

But she argued the proposals should go further in welfare terms by highlighting the need to reach a “genuinely humane endpoint” in all interventions.

Asked if she felt the issue was understood by Defra, she added: “I think we need to keep having the conversation to make sure that we are all as on the same page as we possibly can be and that animal welfare truly is at the heart of the decisions that we are making here.”

Change within the organisation is also part of Mrs Beckett’s agenda with work on a new purpose-built clinic at the Southridge Animal Centre in Hertfordshire, which will replace the current Finsbury Park hospital, already underway.

Maximise impacts

She acknowledged the project posed challenges, but said it was focused on being as effective and efficient as possible to maximise welfare impacts.

She added: “We really think it can bring massive benefits for staff welfare and for animal welfare. Our animals will be seeing our vets at the earliest opportunity every time.”

Meanwhile, plans for a new welfare and rehabilitation centre in Greater Manchester, which some reports have suggested could employ up to 150 staff, are also progressing, following the recent submission of an environmental impact assessment to local council chiefs.

The full interview is available now via the podcast section or below.