Queen guitarist Sir Brian May has announced his sudden resignation as vice president of the RSPCA, calling the move “a painful decision to make” but that he was left with “no other option”.
May, 77, who was recently rushed to hospital after suffering a minor stroke and temporarily losing control of his left arm, is a vocal animal rights campaigner and has been vice president of the charity since 2012.
However, in a statement released on 26 September, May highlighted the “conditions in some farms” as the reason he was stepping down from the position.
In a letter shared on Instagram addressed to the “Board Members and Trustees of the RSPCA”, May wrote: “It is with profound sadness and not without massive soul-searching that today I have to offer my resignation as a vice-president of the RSPCA.
“You have kept me informed through the Save-Me Trust of complaints that have been levelled in recent months at the RSPCA over appallingly bad standards of animal welfare in member farms of the RSPCA Assured scheme.
“I have understood that the RSPCA needed time to evaluate the evidence and make decisions on action to be taken. But as more and more evidence comes to light, I find the RSPCA’s response completely inadequate.
“In line with the organisation’s core principles, and in the clear knowledge that supervision of the Assured scheme had failed and was continuing to fail, I feel the only acceptable policy would have been complete dismantling of the scheme. Instead, the RSPCA have tried to defend their position, and in doing so, in my view, have sacrificed their integrity.”
May then voiced his support for the For Charlie campaign which has also been backed by the likes of Ricky Gervais, Joanna Lumley, and Miriam Margoyles which calls for the RSPCA to abandon the Assured scheme.
The scheme attempts to ensure that RSPCA-marked meat products in stores meet a standard of welfare, which the campaign is now claiming is “misleading”.
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He concluded the letter by saying: “I cannot in all conscience remain a figurehead of the organisation while the RSPCA avoids its responsibilities to put its house in order.”
In the caption for the post, May added that it was: “A very sad day – and a painful decision to make. But in the face of the recent revelations about conditions in some farms in the RSPCA Assured scheme.”
“I feel the RSPCA have had ample time to do the right thing – but have tried to justify their position,” he continued.
He finished the caption by saying: “A very hard decision, because of all the great things the RSPCA do, but in the end there was no other option for me.”
In a statement given to the Metro, an RSPCA spokesperson said: “We have been very proud to have Brian May, a passionate campaigner for animals, as our Vice President and we share his desire to create a better world for all animals.
“We have different views from Brian on how best to approach this complex challenge but we respect his views and understand his decision to step down as RSPCA Vice President.
“We would like to thank him for everything he has done for the RSPCA, our staff, volunteers, supporters and, of course, the animals, during his time as Vice President. His ongoing and devoted work campaigning on issues such as the badger cull and hunting have been invaluable for all animals and we look forward to speaking up on these issues with him in the future.
“Farming is hard, and farmed animal welfare is even harder. The rapid growth of low-welfare industrial farming is the biggest welfare issue facing animals.
“But the reality is 94 per cent of people currently choose to eat meat. There are billions of animals being farmed right now in appalling conditions, with no regard for their welfare. There is currently no specific legal protection for salmon, trout, turkeys, dairy cattle, beef cattle and sheep, and without our standards, many millions of farmed animals would live worse lives.
“But we want to give our supporters, partners and the public confidence that RSPCA Assured is consistently delivering better welfare than standard farming practices. So, we launched an independent review of RSPCA Assured, which has been carried out over several months, including unannounced visits to more than 200 members of the scheme. Once we have analysed our findings, we will take any robust action necessary.”