RSPCA: tweet-a-thon follows a day in the life of the RSPCA
A 24 hour tweet-a-thon by the RSPCA has given an insight into an average day in the life of the nation’s biggest animal welfare charity – with more than 3,100 calls received and more than 1,400 incidents passed to inspectors.
Twitter fans were able to follow live updates from 10am yesterday (Wednesday, 3 August) to 10am this morning as RSPCA_Frontline at twitter.com/RSPCA_Frontline gave details of some of the thousands of calls the charity receives every day – and how we rely entirely on the public’s support.
Inspector Tony Woodley, communications and liaison officer for the RSPCA inspectorate, set up the RSPCA_Frontline Twitter feed as he wanted to publicise the work of the RSPCA’s 292 inspectors, 80 animal welfare officers and 52 animal collection officers.
It was the first time Tony (pictured right), joined by chief superintendent Richard Harding and digital project manager James Self, had ever spent 24 hours at the RSPCA’s national control centre in South Yorkshire from where they tweeted incidents as they came in.
Tony said: “The tweet-a-thon was a unique event for us, but the day itself certainly wasn’t. It was just another day in the life of the RSPCA and every day is like that.
“For us it was about raising awareness of the work that the RSPCA does around the clock, 24 hours a day, and reminding people that we couldn’t do it without them.”
On average someone in England and Wales calls the RSPCA’s cruelty line on 0300 1234 999 every 30 seconds. The charity received more than 1.25 million phone calls last year and responds to around 1,000 incidents a day*.
Some of the many incidents tweeted during the event included a someone who found a snake hiding behind their microwave, a pigeon found trapped in a barrel of cooking oil, scores of calls about dogs in hot cars and an early hours rescue of a horse stuck in a muddy pond.
“A lot of people sent us messages of support, saying it really opened their eyes, and that is a major success. So many people said they never realised the full extent of the work our frontline staff carry out day in, day out,” added Tony.
On average someone in England and Wales calls the RSPCA’s cruelty line on 0300 1234 999 every 30 seconds. The charity received more than 1.25 million phone calls last year and responds to around 1,000 incidents a day*.
Providing 24-hour animal welfare services, 365 days a year, cost the RSPCA £61million last year.
The RSPCA does not receive government funding and it is thanks to the generosity of our supporters that we are able to continue to provide this vital service.
Tony said: “Hopefully the Tweet-a-thon has given people an idea of how busy we are and how much we rely on the generosity of the public now as much as ever. The RSPCA does not receive government funding and it is thanks to the generosity of our supporters that we are able to continue to provide this vital service. People can still donate at www.rspca.org.uk/247 to help us prevent animal cruelty and rescue those in need.”
-ends-
Notes to editors
— RSPCA frontline services costs 2010 breakdown:
Inspectorate £31,503,000
National control centre £ 6,477,000
Animal centres £10,988,000
Animal hospitals/clinics £ 9,386,000
Wildlife centres £ 2,777,000
Total £61,131,000
-01.png){kind=spacer}