New Tip Line Alerts Scottish SPCA To Animal Crime

by Maria A. Schulz

A toll-free, anonymous telephone service has been launched in Scotland in the hope that extreme cruelty to animals, both domestic and wildlife, can be stopped.

The Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) has joined forces with Crimestoppers, a nationwide freephone service that never asks for the callers’ name, cannot be traced, and could result in a reward for the informant.

The SSPCA said that early phone tip-offs could help significantly to prevent animal cruelty and other illegal activities.

Many people involved in dog fighting or badger baiting are also believed to be involved in drug dealing and other nefarious activities.

SSPCA spokesperson Doreen Graham said a joint operation like this, between animal welfare agencies and police, is desperately needed to curtail the shocking level of cruelty that some animals face in Scotland.

"Some of the intelligence we’re receiving is coming too late after the event," Graham said. She hopes the new telephone tip line will mean critical information is received quickly enough for agencies to intervene in time to save abused animals.

The SSPCA hoped that cock-fighting had been relegated to the past, but in August it found two birds with metal spurs taped to their legs.

In another incident in West Lothian, a badger sett had been dug out and a young female badger was tortured. She drowned after failing to recover from her injuries, which were described in an autopsy as "horrific."

Superintendent Paul Gilroy, from Lothian and Borders Police and a member of the Crimestoppers Scotland Board, said, "Anyone with information that could help Scottish SPCA officres in their fight against animal cruelty could make an enormous difference with one telephone call.

"Many animals could be saved from horrific deaths that are unnecessary and in the name of money or a twisted belief that theirs is a sporting activity."

The nationwide freephone number in Scotland is 0800-555-111.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.