Swindon & District Animal Haven exposed for neglect and cruelty of animals
WARNing | 08.12.2007 17:28 | Animal Liberation
Swindon, Wiltshire, UK - Activists from Gloucestershire Animal Action and the Western Animal Rights Network were alerted by a tip of from a volunteer of Swindon & District Animal Haven in early November and were invited to film early morning on the 26th November 2007 by the volunteer who wanted us to gather evidence which she hoped would close the “sanctuary”...
Swindon & District Animal Haven exposed for neglect and cruelty of animals
For Immediate release:
6th December 2007
Contact:
Chris Potter (Gloucestershire Animal Action) – 01452 539673
Swindon, Wiltshire, UK - Activists from Gloucestershire Animal Action and the Western Animal Rights Network were alerted by a tip of from a volunteer of Swindon & District Animal Haven in early November and were invited to film early morning on the 26th November 2007 by the volunteer who wanted us to gather evidence which she hoped would close the “sanctuary” and stop members of the public unknowingly taking animals to this filthy, cramped hellhole where animals are routinely denied food, water and adequate shelter.
Those involved with the evidence gathering contacted the RSPCA who promised the place would be visited and the press should not be notified as to not give the owner a chance to make the place appear legitimate. The RSPCA then apparently let slip to the owner whilst visiting a kennels and the volunteers contacted us to say, he is making changed onsite and putting heaters in the caravans.
As our video shows, the Animal Welfare act which makes it an offence to not protect animals from pain, suffering, injury and disease has been ignored. The Animal Welfare act also means that animals should be able to live in a suitable environment we found multiple cases of animals being improperly housed exposing them to -6oc temperatures with no shelter from the frost.
The video can be viewed on the video site YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVBYTxywKLw
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The following is a statement from the volunteer Jean Walker who first alerted us to the conditions at SDAH:
“There is no hot water or disinfectant to clean anything. The cats and dogs inside the building have no natural light that includes the dog in the office. It is taken for granted that the volunteers will clean and feed the animals although there is little food available, the pig food is Sainsbury’s out of date stuff i.e. bread, cakes, sweets and some fruit along with ready meals of meat. He rummages through this and takes most stuff for himself.”
“Through the summer and autumn the pigs were kept outside in terrible conditions, the mud was so bad that they had difficulty moving around. The young pigs were much underfed to the point of starvation. My friend and I started to bring our own pig-cattle and cat food, also food for the geese; he said that the geese do not need feeding as they live on grass! The six large pigs and eight young pigs had no dry bedding; they have since been moved inside but still live in filth and still have no dry bedding.”
“The twenty geese are shut in a metal shed which is full of green stagnant water and no dry bedding. There is a caravan that contains five cats of various ages. During a cold spell twice we had to break the ice off their water bowls, needless to say that the food and litter trays had not been cleaned for a couple of days. The caravan held about seven cats, four of which were still there the last time we were there. The cats inside the building are not separated from the dogs, there was an incident when someone let a bull terrier out of its pen and it ran into the cat’s room and attached one of the cats, the cat escaped injured and after days of searching has not been seen again.”
“There is no information on the dog’s dietary requirements or their past history.
There are fifty-five rabbits in very bad living conditions. There have very little food and water and dirty bedding and no natural light. There are numerous chickens and bantams which had no water or food on all the occasions that we have been there; also there are six Muscovy ducks which are kept in a small hut in appalling conditions also with no food. There are three turkeys and eight cows kept in bad condition. There is a small room with chinchilla’s, white mice and gerbils in.”
“I discovered dead mice one morning which could have been killed by rats, as there was evidence of nibbling and rat droppings found in the dog kennels. A pigeon was found dead after the first three weeks of being there, the other one has been there for several years. We offered to re-home the birds in a bird sanctuary but he refused. There is a peacock roaming around the grounds and in a cage inside one of the sheds two tropical green birds. In the office three corn snakes, two in one tank and one in another. At the far end of the property we found two fighting cocks that were obviously hidden from the volunteers. I have spoken to various people who have helped there, they say that he does not know if anyone is going to arrive and sometimes does not show his face at the sanctuary. He has been caught out on various occasions telling lies.”
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According their website they still proudly display an old article from 1999 which describes them as being a registered charity (their about us page), after a short phone call to the Charity Commission we discovered that charitable status was revoked in 2005 although the site still gives the misleading impression that they are charity. We have yet to find out why SDAH had their status revoked.
We have also heard via another Gloucestershire based animal shelter that they would never take animals to them after a dog warden refused to take animals to SDAH as the owner always wanted to pick the dogs up at a service station and when asked if the warden could view the shelter the owner refused.
Gloucestershire Animal Action have asked the RSPCA to inspect and they have failed the animals so we are now calling for members of the public to write to their Local Council, local MP, RSPCA, DEFRA and trading standards to have the place closed down permanently and allow activists to remove and re-home the animals currently being kept in this disgusting place.
Our primary focus is to get this information out to the public, we do not want have animals taken to SDAH. We have heard that the RSPCA are also still sending animals here so we ask members of the public to contact the RSPCA to ask them not to send animals here.
We would also ask members of the public to make it a priority to get any companion animals spayed and neutered to help stem the fast growing population of abandoned pets that end up in sanctuaries around the UK. If you must re-home animals please ask for a tour of the facilities first or ring us on 01452 539763 for more advice and information on our re-homing network.
For interviews or a hi-resolution DVD of the unedited footage please contact Chris Potter
info@stopanimalcruelty.co.uk or phone Gloucestershire Animal Action on 01452 539673
Source: http://www.stopanimalcruelty.co.uk/sdah
For Immediate release:
6th December 2007
Contact:
Chris Potter (Gloucestershire Animal Action) – 01452 539673
Swindon, Wiltshire, UK - Activists from Gloucestershire Animal Action and the Western Animal Rights Network were alerted by a tip of from a volunteer of Swindon & District Animal Haven in early November and were invited to film early morning on the 26th November 2007 by the volunteer who wanted us to gather evidence which she hoped would close the “sanctuary” and stop members of the public unknowingly taking animals to this filthy, cramped hellhole where animals are routinely denied food, water and adequate shelter.
Those involved with the evidence gathering contacted the RSPCA who promised the place would be visited and the press should not be notified as to not give the owner a chance to make the place appear legitimate. The RSPCA then apparently let slip to the owner whilst visiting a kennels and the volunteers contacted us to say, he is making changed onsite and putting heaters in the caravans.
As our video shows, the Animal Welfare act which makes it an offence to not protect animals from pain, suffering, injury and disease has been ignored. The Animal Welfare act also means that animals should be able to live in a suitable environment we found multiple cases of animals being improperly housed exposing them to -6oc temperatures with no shelter from the frost.
The video can be viewed on the video site YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVBYTxywKLw ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is a statement from the volunteer Jean Walker who first alerted us to the conditions at SDAH:
“There is no hot water or disinfectant to clean anything. The cats and dogs inside the building have no natural light that includes the dog in the office. It is taken for granted that the volunteers will clean and feed the animals although there is little food available, the pig food is Sainsbury’s out of date stuff i.e. bread, cakes, sweets and some fruit along with ready meals of meat. He rummages through this and takes most stuff for himself.”
“Through the summer and autumn the pigs were kept outside in terrible conditions, the mud was so bad that they had difficulty moving around. The young pigs were much underfed to the point of starvation. My friend and I started to bring our own pig-cattle and cat food, also food for the geese; he said that the geese do not need feeding as they live on grass! The six large pigs and eight young pigs had no dry bedding; they have since been moved inside but still live in filth and still have no dry bedding.”
“The twenty geese are shut in a metal shed which is full of green stagnant water and no dry bedding. There is a caravan that contains five cats of various ages. During a cold spell twice we had to break the ice off their water bowls, needless to say that the food and litter trays had not been cleaned for a couple of days. The caravan held about seven cats, four of which were still there the last time we were there. The cats inside the building are not separated from the dogs, there was an incident when someone let a bull terrier out of its pen and it ran into the cat’s room and attached one of the cats, the cat escaped injured and after days of searching has not been seen again.”
“There is no information on the dog’s dietary requirements or their past history.
There are fifty-five rabbits in very bad living conditions. There have very little food and water and dirty bedding and no natural light. There are numerous chickens and bantams which had no water or food on all the occasions that we have been there; also there are six Muscovy ducks which are kept in a small hut in appalling conditions also with no food. There are three turkeys and eight cows kept in bad condition. There is a small room with chinchilla’s, white mice and gerbils in.”
“I discovered dead mice one morning which could have been killed by rats, as there was evidence of nibbling and rat droppings found in the dog kennels. A pigeon was found dead after the first three weeks of being there, the other one has been there for several years. We offered to re-home the birds in a bird sanctuary but he refused. There is a peacock roaming around the grounds and in a cage inside one of the sheds two tropical green birds. In the office three corn snakes, two in one tank and one in another. At the far end of the property we found two fighting cocks that were obviously hidden from the volunteers. I have spoken to various people who have helped there, they say that he does not know if anyone is going to arrive and sometimes does not show his face at the sanctuary. He has been caught out on various occasions telling lies.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
According their website they still proudly display an old article from 1999 which describes them as being a registered charity (their about us page), after a short phone call to the Charity Commission we discovered that charitable status was revoked in 2005 although the site still gives the misleading impression that they are charity. We have yet to find out why SDAH had their status revoked.
We have also heard via another Gloucestershire based animal shelter that they would never take animals to them after a dog warden refused to take animals to SDAH as the owner always wanted to pick the dogs up at a service station and when asked if the warden could view the shelter the owner refused.
Gloucestershire Animal Action have asked the RSPCA to inspect and they have failed the animals so we are now calling for members of the public to write to their Local Council, local MP, RSPCA, DEFRA and trading standards to have the place closed down permanently and allow activists to remove and re-home the animals currently being kept in this disgusting place.
Our primary focus is to get this information out to the public, we do not want have animals taken to SDAH. We have heard that the RSPCA are also still sending animals here so we ask members of the public to contact the RSPCA to ask them not to send animals here.
We would also ask members of the public to make it a priority to get any companion animals spayed and neutered to help stem the fast growing population of abandoned pets that end up in sanctuaries around the UK. If you must re-home animals please ask for a tour of the facilities first or ring us on 01452 539763 for more advice and information on our re-homing network.
For interviews or a hi-resolution DVD of the unedited footage please contact Chris Potter
info@stopanimalcruelty.co.uk or phone Gloucestershire Animal Action on 01452 539673 Source:
http://www.stopanimalcruelty.co.uk/sdah
WARNing
Homepage:
http://www.animalliberation.co.uk
Comments
Hide the following 4 comments
I strongly disagree with this article, having visited the sanctuary on numerous
12.12.2007 21:33
I am writing to express my views on the video which has been made about the Swindon and District Animal Haven. From what I have gathered, you pride yourselves on being an organisation which has the welfare and rights of animals at the centre of its priorities. Because of this, I am intrigued as to why you saw it beneficial and necessary to edit the filming in such a way that it does not show the true nature of the sanctuary, when this sanctuary actually goes above and beyond your aspirations in animal welfare. Assuming that your objectives are real, I would like to know exactly how you believe that falsely editing scenes is abiding by them. The images of the dead pigeon were taken and used out of context in a way which would lead the viewer to believe the pigeon had been mistreated, but what it actually was, was the remains of a hawks meal. This disproves your point that the animals are not given access to food, but also more seriously is a deceptive tool which would render the video worthless and untrustworthy, should this matter ever go to court. This editing does make me wonder whether you are actually interested in the welfare of the animals or just the fame that causing such a shameful scandal would bring.
When you commented on the ‘filthy and cramped’ state of this sanctuary, did it actually occur to you that perhaps rather than publicly slating it, you should donate some money and volunteer to aid in the upkeep? Or were you single-mindedly focused on lowering the public image of a man who is devoting his life to the welfare of abandoned and uncared-for pets? Do you think that if people stop helping after having seen your video, the animals will benefit? Thanks to you, I'm sure a noticeable amount of much needed charity will disappear. If you are so concerned about these animals, then why don’t you form your own animal shelter or even do the simple, basic assistance of adopting some of these rescued animals? Perhaps because you would no doubt do a worse job than John Warwick.
On a further note, how exactly do you expect a dog which has not been housetrained due to previous lack of care and training in its former home to not leave puddles during the night? You or I no doubt use the toilet during the night without a thought. Why is it so different when a dog does, in the only way which it has been taught that is acceptable? If you were so concerned about this then, as I have previously said, why did you not begin volunteering on a regular basis and donate a suitable amount of money to fund the upkeep of this haven? Either of these options would have been more advantageous than publishing a fabricated scandal which will undoubtably cause these animals which you claim to care about to suffer more.
When you were filming this sanctuary, did you attempt to resolve any of the alleged problems or were you simply there for you fifteen minutes of fame? Hundreds of animals have been rescued from abusive homes by John Warwick, and thanks to your vindictive, incorrect film, you have jeopardised the chance that thousands more will ever be rescued and re-homed, should the sanctuary be forced to close due to your actions. As ‘Animal Activists’, surely your efforts would be better directed at the millions of mistreated and starving animals which have not yet found themselves to a compassionate sanctuary such as this one.
As for the cat caravan, where do you suggest the cats be kept? Unless you wish them to roam the grounds freely, beside the busy main road, then what other than cages do you propose? Surely you are not suggesting that all the cats, whatever sex, illness or injury are kept in one large open room? Until generous volunteers and charitable fundraisers collect enough money to fund the development of a more permanent structure, the cattery is a far better temporary home than the one the cats have left. A more pro-active way of improving this would be to assist yourselves.
On an even lower, more unjust note, I was appalled that you could dare to criticise John Warwick’s intentions. Why would someone who is, according to you, unfit to care for these animals work second jobs purely to fund expensive vet bills, which are often hundreds of pounds? When animals have needed operations, after having been mistreated in their previous houses, and are not fit to spend a night alone, John Warwick has stayed in what you have already classed as ‘filthy’ conditions, simply to check constantly on their wellbeing.
The press have already printed stories about animals who have benefited from their time at the sanctuary. Namely, a cat named Grumpy, who the RSPCA refused to shelter, even though he was running riot in a street, and was a danger to the community because he would bite and claw anyone who came near. After a few weeks at the SDAH, he would allow volunteers to hold and stroke him, and rarely hissed. This is a prime example of the numerous cases in which animals benefited directly from being rescued, and without it, they would still be unhappy and unloved.
Essentially, with your ill-researched and maliciously published video, all you have achieved is to highlight the well known fact that this animal sanctuary is running on a very low budget, and, like other charitable organisations similar to itself, is in desperate need of funding and volunteers. If, however, people such as yourself are not prepared to do this, and instead circulate degrading footage, all you succeed in is showing the true selfishness of your intentions.
I hope you will refrain from initiating this kind of scandal again,
A distressed volunteer
Anonymous
Dear Anonymous
13.12.2007 00:55
We are currently building a case against SDAH as they have allowed animals to suffer unnecessarily whilst being kept at the sanctuary.
We are receiving statements from various professional animal carers including now:
Two vets, a previous member of staff from Swindon Pound who worked at SDAH undercover after hearing such horrific stories, three volunteers who are willing to stand in court to have this place closed down. Two other sanctuaries who have first hand knowledge of the conditions and how the video actually shown was much better than they remember.
As previously stated the full video footage will be available for you to on Monday possibly Tuesday.
We have made provisions to have every last animal to re-homed from SDAH. Although it has been the opinion of two people we have spoken too that the animals would be better off dead than being kept at SDAH we disagree and wish to see animals in a safe clean, environment.
Tonight I spoke to someone who has details of a private prosecution that was brought against SDAH previous to our investigation.
The “hawks meal” you describe has written off as an outright lie by the volunteers who were working there at the time.
The video is only a small part of the evidence, have you even bothered to read the statements from the volunteer or were you so keen to protect John and your own actions?
The RSPCA gave John prior notice that they were visiting him you along with John had a week to clean that place, as far as If you protect this place then you are as much to blame as the owner.
Chris
Gloucestershire Animal Action
Chris
e-mail:
chris@stopanimalcruelty.co.uk
Homepage:
http://www.animalliberation.co.uk
Who is after the money?
13.12.2007 02:29
I'll reserve judgement about SDAH for my own eyes.I've never heard of the place until now but I will visit it and will help any animals I see that are in need- I won't have time to video it though!
A real animal activist
A real animal activist
Animal 'Charities' these days
25.03.2008 15:02
OK. I see collections regularly for 'Animal Charities' outside my local Sainsbury and refuse to pass them a single bean. All the pretty pics and articles of animals seem to be more for show. The energy and commitment of the people standing there is not what one would expect. Some even claim to be THE runners of the 'Rescue Centre' and get very defensive when questioned even politely about issues. (I have worked in a Rescue Centre as a volunteer which got into difficuties and was taken over by a much larger national Charity).
I wonder, how much regulation there is on these places and how often the conditions are checked up on?
I once knew a woman who was sad and lonely and (to be very frank) rather twisted in her dotage. She set up a very local 'Cat Rescue' centre in her council house. She actually kidnapped a cat I had been given as a dead loss, suffering from Cat Flu and having eaten nothing for a week and drank nothing for almost three days. I treated the cat, barely more than five months old, with sage, honey and garlic and it was getting stronger day by day with small portions of fresh fish to eat coated in wheat germ. This particular 'do-gooder' took this same kitten and fed it on milk and sugar! The cat could not return to me for healthy food, and consequently died!
"The Road to Hell is Paved with Best Intentions", or so we are told. Perhaps the best thing we can do when we meet a centre in such dreadful conditions is to offer help in the first instance, instead of calling in the ever increasingly draconian authorities, and see what our own input can do to alleviate suffering. It's not all about cleaning and feeding and scrubbing! Admin jobs are also important, as are performing the tasks we all do daily for those too busy with the animals to be able to find time to do - Gardening, Washing up, shopping, book-keeping, and a whole load of other jobs. Even researching information to improve conditions is useful. Just don't be too blooming judgemental, until and unless you have been involved and seen first hand what is going on.
Geddi
e-mail:
ged_b@hotmail.com
Homepage:
http://www.gregpalast.com