TRUSTEES' REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2022 3
acting as our eyes and ears by contacting us about animal
welfare issues, 105,000+ new supporters coming on board,
26,000+ volunteer hours being donated and 8.8 million social
media engagements being made in 2022 alone, we are pushing
forward to bring ever more people on board - at least a million
of them by 2030 - to help us deliver on our 10-year strategy,
Together for animal welfare. In harnessing that sort of support
we believe we can reach our ambitions to dramatically change
animals' lives for the better by then.
Throughout 2022, we continued to rescue, rehabilitate,
care for and rehome or release many thousands of animals.
But none of that happens in isolation - as a community-based
organisation, we absolutely rely on individuals and communities
to get behind us and get involved. For example, we brought
on board 170 animal rescue volunteers to help us collect animals
in need, and introduced a new volunteering programme to
empower people to create safe spaces for the wild animals
who share our world. Our inspectors gave out more than
28,000 advice notices to help animal owners better understand
what they could do to protect their own animals. And our
amazing volunteers donated whatever time they could, whether
several hours a week walking dogs or socialising kittens, or just
a few minutes to sign up to a campaign or share our advice
and information online - it all makes such a difference.
Together, we are so much stronger.
We are just over a year away from our 200th anniversary in 2024.
This will be a real spotlight year for the RSPCA, when the public
will have multiple chances to see us, to join us in celebrating
our history and to reappraise our unique contribution to society
from the very birth of the animal welfare movement that
began with us in 1824 and spread around the world. We are
looking forward to reaching many new audiences and bringing
more and more people on board to help us deliver the good
lives for animals that we all want. It's so exciting to anticipate
what we'll be able to achieve together.
This year, we say goodbye to our president, Richard Ryder.
Richard has given many years of excellent service to the RSPCA
and to animals. In recognition and gratitude, we have awarded
him our highest honour, the Queen Victoria Gold Award.
Taking his place, I'd like to give a warm welcome to TV personality
and wildlife expert Chris Packham, who has supported the
RSPCA for many years. He is a strong, respected voice for
animals whose commitment and passion can only help us
achieve even more in the future.
Finally, let me finish by thanking the entire RSPCA community
for their amazing achievements for animals once again this year.
Our branches, volunteers, staff, partners and supporters make
this the compassionate, pioneering organisation it has always
been and will continue to be. The achievements highlighted
in this report are thanks to all of them.
René Olivieri
Chair, RSPCA
…there is always hope of
positive change in the world and we are
determined to continue to make it a
kinder and more compassionate place
for animals. We know we're not alone in
that desire...protecting animal welfare
is important to most people.