The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Reform Group was founded in 1970 by members of the British

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales which promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

who were frustrated by the organization's inability, as they saw it, to deal effectively with the issues raised by

factory farming Intensive animal farming, industrial livestock production, and macro-farms, also known as factory farming, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to mass animal husbandry designed to maximize production while minimizing co ...

animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of animals, as model organisms, in experiments that seek answers to scientific and medical questions. This approach can be contrasted ...

, and

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

. The group was particularly concerned that pro-hunting members were attempting to prevent the society from expressing opposition to

bloodsport A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities charact ...

s; several of them had said they would lobby to have the RSPCA's charitable status removed if it campaigned against hunting. The Reform Group was led by Brian Seager, John Bryant, and Stanley Cover, and the aim was to secure the election to the 46-member RSPCA Council of Seager, Bryant, and other supporters of the group's more radical agenda, including Andrew Linzey, the Oxford theologian, and

Richard D. Ryder Richard Hood Jack Dudley Ryder (born 3 July 1940) is an English writer, psychologist, and animal rights advocate. Ryder became known in the 1970s as a member of the Oxford Group, a group of intellectuals loosely centred on the University of Oxf ...

, the Oxford psychologist who coined the term

speciesism Speciesism () is a term used in philosophy regarding the treatment of individuals of different species. The term has several different definitions. Some specifically define speciesism as discrimination or unjustified treatment based on an indivi ...

.Ryder, Richard. 2009. "Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Reform Group" in Marc Bekoff (ed.). ''Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare''. Greenwood, pp. 307–308. Ryder writes that, from then until 1978, the Reform Group succeeded in changing the RSPCA from an organization that had come to focus mostly on companion animals – despite its own radical 19th-century roots – to one that opposed bloodsports, developed comprehensive animal welfare policies, and focused more on farming, animal testing, and wildlife. Ryder became vice-chairman of the RSPCA Council in 1976, then chairman from 1977 to 1979.

Protests

Members of the RSPCA Reform Group have led protests against RSPCA officials that advocate blood sports. In April 1971, Hilda Owen of the RSPCA Reform Group staged a protest demonstration in Leamington contesting the re-election of

Charles Smith-Ryland Sir Charles Mortimer Tollemache Smith-Ryland KCVO (24 May 1927 – 14 November 1989) was Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire from 1968 to 1989. Career The son of Captain Charles Ivor Phipson Smith-Ryland, he was educated at Eton College and marrie ...

as president of the South and East Warwickshire branch of the RSPCA. Two months later, the RSPCA Reform Group reported success as the South and East Warwickshire branch had voted to remove the president position.

Notes

Animal rights movement Animal welfare organisations based in the United Kingdom {{animal-rights-stub