Gavin Grant is leaving the limelight because of concerns over his health, and I am one of many animal lovers who will be sorry to see Mr Grant step down as CEO of the RSPCA. Mr Grant is no stranger in the fight for good animal welfare. From 1987 to 1988 he was campaigns director at the Council for the Protection of Rural England, and he worked as Director of Communications for the RSPCA from 1988 to 1991. He was corporate communications manager at The Body Shop International from 1993 to 1999, where he campaigned against the cruel use of animals in testing cosmetics. In 2012 when he joined the RSPCA as Executive Director, he endeared himself to thousands of us when he said, “Those who get a kick out of it, those who consciously abuse animals for profit or for pleasure – they are the enemies of the animals, and that makes them the enemies of the RSPCA. We take a zero-tolerance approach to animal cruelty: mice, hedgehogs, dogs, cats, badgers, cows, sheep, foxes, snakes — we are here to protect all animals.” And that is exactly what he has done over the two years he has been Chief Executive of the oldest and most respected animal charity in the world. Of course Mr Grant has his detractors, but when you look at his opposition you can see exactly why they don’t want a strong man at the helm of the RSPCA. The Countryside Alliance, that well known hunting club for the rich and privileged, have done their very best (with the help of rags like the Mail, Telegraph and their affiliates) to attack the RSPCA under Gavin’s leadership, and to attack the man personally on social media sites and in the pro hunting press. Sir Barney White-Spunner, Countryside Alliance CEO, referred to the RSPCA as ‘sinister and nasty’, but we all know Mr Spunner has never got over the shock of the successful Heythrop prosecution, and the fact that if hunters are caught with their pants down again, the RSPCA will not hesitate to prosecute under the terms of the hunting Act. Gavin Grant is owed a huge debt of gratitude by those of us who pay more than lip service to protecting animals. He has spoken out against the evil live export trade and the plight of animals in circuses. His leadership against the badger cull never wavered, and he confronted the sporting world over the cruelty of the Grand National. This and much, much more, all his work for animals has never faltered, even against a backdrop of abuse and insults from those who think animal suffering is secondary to their own pursuits and pleasure. Because of Gavin Grant, the RSPCA has once again become a true voice for the voiceless. Animals come first for him, and under him the RSPCA has managed to recover its original purpose. There would be no show without Punch, and the pro hunt lobby are calling for the RSPCA to be stripped of its role as prosecutor, because say its enemies, they are picking fights in courts. (Funny I thought that was what was expected of a prosecutor) Under Mr Grant’s leadership, the RSPCA took on certain members of the Chipping Norton set and won. It was a landmark victory against a group of thugs who thought that the law which said you couldn’t disembowel a fox with a pack of dogs didn’t apply to them. Gavin Grant has been accused of taking the Heythrop case for political reasons. Yet I have never seen a satisfactory explanation for that statement. Why is it political to prosecute those who break the law? That they hobnobbed with the current Prime Minister does not give them immunity from prosecution, and let’s not forget they did break the law when they deliberately set their dogs on an innocent fox. (Perhaps they should have thought of Mr Cameron’s embarrassment before they broke one of Britain’s laws) True to form Gavin Grant did not back down, he had this to say to the Telegraph when he was accused of playing politics, “The notion that we would take on prosecutions for politics, PR or fund-raising is firstly immensely offensive to those officers who are out there, day in, day out, dealing with a lot of stuff that your readers and most of us never see. It’s a damned difficult job, and they do it brilliantly. The 400 officers across England and Wales are people of integrity who simply wouldn’t chase prosecutions for publicity or politics. So that notion is a nonsense, frankly. It has always been a nonsense.” One of the many tributes I have read to Gavin Grants leadership of the RSPCA is this one from Alan Kirby from POWA (Protect Our Wild Animals). It sums up exactly how we all feel about Gavin Grant, “Gavin Grant is owed a debt of gratitude by the whole anti-blood sports community for having the courage to authorise the RSPCA to step in where the CPS had been derelict in its duty and to prosecute a Hunt that, evidence suggests, had been repeatedly and blatantly flouting the law of the land for years.” Mr Kirby went on to say, “The monitors who collected the proof that forced the Heythrop and two of its members to plead guilty to 12 charges of illegal hunting had, over the past several years, provided police and CPS with what they say was equally good evidence against them on no fewer than 30 occasions, repeatedly suffering obstruction, harassment, threats, property damage and assaults from Heythrop followers for their pains. Most of these illegal hunting cases were rejected out of hand and none were brought to court. This, perhaps, was the real 'political' aspect of the whole affair.” Huge respect, Gavin Grant, and get well soon, for there is nothing better than a strong man (or woman) who is not afraid to stand up to the bullies who hurt animals. In his own words, “What I am trying to do is to recover the original purpose and mission of the RSPCA. The founders saw that compassion was indivisible, and people should be the voice for the voiceless.” Gavin Grant I and many, many others think he has done just that.
10 Comments
David M
2/28/2014 06:24:16 pm
The RSPCA has lost the best CEO it ever had. Hope he comes back one day fighting fit
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eileen
2/28/2014 07:20:28 pm
Sad news that a man with principles has been under fire so much. We wish him well and mourn his resignation.
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Gavin took the RSPCA back to it's roots and the reason it was formed,to defend and care for animals who have no voice,to bring to justice anyone who abused,neglected or wantonly destroyed the creatures that we share this earth with.
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stott
3/1/2014 08:00:19 am
Sad day for all . Thank you gavin for what you have done ..BUT PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COME BACK IN
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Georgie
3/1/2014 08:40:56 am
Thankyou so much to Gavin Grant re the Live Exports xx Also for being a voice for our poor animals. I wish this caring man all the best and huge respect for all achieved xx
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Maureen Ellen McGill
3/1/2014 08:52:24 am
Thank you Gavin for your great compassion for those without a voice.
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Julia
3/1/2014 11:24:51 am
Nice to hear about someone who truly cared about animals.
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3/2/2014 03:13:35 am
We at KAALE Kent Action Against Live Exports will sadly miss Gavin who gave us hope when we had none. We now look to the rest of the RSPCA staff to uphold what he started and to continue to fight the forces of evil who care nothing for other creatures we share our world with. These people and they know who they are only care for selfish pleasures excited by a blood lust that should be cast into history. Some day they might have to answer for their crimes against innocent animals to an even greater power than they have.
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Patricia Betty
3/2/2014 03:43:14 am
Gavin Grant is an inspiration to all of us who care about stopping cruelty. He never wavered in spite of the lies and the orchestrated campaign of hate directed at the RSPCA by the hunters. A truly good man. I have a huge amount of respect for him.
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Mrs Beeching
3/6/2014 03:50:31 am
I wish this man all the love and luck in the world and most of all restored health..
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