Emergency Contact

Contact Checklist - Emergency help

If you need to contact the RSPCA to report an act of cruelty, neglect or concern about the welfare of an animal, call the RSPCA's 24-hour national cruelty and advice line on 08705 555 999. Please do not use this website to report cruelty as our enquiries desk is only manned during office hours. Please take the time to look at this checklist before you call.

You can make a real difference - as a direct consequence of public action,hundreds of successful RSPCA prosecutions are made each year and thousands of animals are saved from further suffering. If in doubt always ring the RSPCA's 24-hour national cruelty and advice line on 08705 555 999 and set your mind at rest.

You might stop someone being cruel to an animal if you act immediately, but first assess the situation calmly before you rush in - the person acting cruelly could turn on you if you interfere.

Take a note of what you've seen, using the checklist below, and then phone the RSPCA's 24-hour national cruelty and advice line. You will be asked to give a detailed description of what you have seen or heard - be ready to give the following information:

Your own name, address and telephone number for our records. It is RSPCA policy to treat all complaints in the strictest confidence. Your name will not be disclosed without your permission, but the RSPCA inspector will need to contact you if you want to know about the result of his or her investigation. Please note that this may only be when the entire enquiry has been concluded.

1 - The date, time and place of the offence. Photographs showing the cruelty involved may provide vital evidence in a prosecution case. If by any chance you have a camera to hand and it is safe for you to use it, please do - mention this to the controller who handles your call.

2 - Our controller will need to ask you a series of questions about the animal(s) involved to establish the full situation. These will relate to what you have seen in relation to the animal's environment and its bodily condition.

3 - If known, the name(s) and address(es) of the person(s) involved.

4 - The names and addresses of any witnesses.

5 - The registration number and description of any vehicle involved.

6 - State whether you would be prepared to testify in a court of law if necessary. The RSPCA always aims to prevent cruelty through education and opts for court proceedings only as a last resort.

The RSPCA believes that the basic welfare of all animals must take into account the Five Freedoms:
Freedom from hunger and thirst;
Freedom from discomfort;
Freedom from pain, injury or disease;
Freedom to express normal behaviour;
Freedom from fear and distress.

RSPCA EMERGENCY & CRUELTY HOTLINE 24 Hours 0300 1234 999