| Type | Charity |
|---|---|
| Industry | Animal welfare |
| Founded | 1839 |
| Headquarters | Scotland |
| Website | http://www.scottishspca.org/ |
The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (also known as the Scottish SPCA and SSPCA) is a charity to promote animal welfare in Scotland. It was founded in Edinburgh in 1839 and one of its first aims was to improve the welfare of cart-horses. Over the next century and a half the charity grew and merged with other local SPCAs, such as the Dundee SPCA, Glasgow and West of Scotland SPCA and Aberdeen APCA. It now has 12 animal rescue centres which treat over 12,000 animals a year, with its headquarters and animal helpline based in Dunfermline, Fife.
The Scottish SPCA is, uniquely, a specialist reporting agency to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. This enables it to lay reports for prosecutions, given there is no effective system of private prosecution in Scotland. This power is coupled with the designation of the Scottish SPCA's inspectors under section 49(2)(a) of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, which enables inspectors to exercise powers of entry, search, seizure and issue of binding notices under the Act, such as "care notices". The Scottish SPCA is the only animal welfare organisation in Great Britain to have such powers.
In promoting prevention of cruelty, the Scottish SPCA is unique in running a free visiting education service for schools, tying in extensively with the Scottish curriculum. Since devolution the Scottish SPCA has been at the forefront of campaigning in the Scottish Parliament for improved animal protection laws in Scotland and were prominent advisors on the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill which obtained Royal Assent in May 2006.
The Scottish SPCA is often confused with the RSPCA. Although the two societies both work with animal welfare, the RSPCA operates only in England and Wales, while the Scottish SPCA covers Scotland. Both charities are entirely separate from each other.