Transparency New Zealand

You can help by speaking out    please do not remain silent on this one ! 

While assisting some people with their dilemma of the local branch of the RNZSPCA, I came across  a company called  SPCA AOTEAROA LIMITED (5343361) Registered

The company is allegedly owned by The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Auckland Incorporated   but  despite  the fact that it was incorporated  30 June 2014  no mention of this company can be found in the annual reports    2015 annual report   or the  2016 annual report.

Mr Trainer files his own  directors form , showing that he is self appointed   he does this through the auspices of his  own company Lomond group limited

Having noted that  the  Auckland SPCA  prefers to use the  generic name SPCA and  its  chairman  Gordon Trainer is also the national president of the RNZSPCA

Gordon trainer was co opted to the national board  September 2015  and it would appear  on what I can see , that he became  president   when he had already set the wheels for  SPCA aotearoa in motion .

What is  the difference you may well ask   well it is an important one  summed up on the RNZSPCA web site

There are  some 40  incorporated societies which are  members or branches of the RNZSPCA , The RNZSPCA  is the national body    on which all of the individual branches and member societies have  a representation  . Those persons who are the appointed members to the RNZSPCA  then select  their  office bearers from their number.

But what so often happens   is that one  person  becomes  entrenched in the role  and that is where the propensity for going off the rails occurs.

For many years Bob Kerridge has been   both the  chairman of the Auckland SPCA and the  national  president of the RNZSPCA  , he was  followed by Gordon Trainer.

Now the SPCA Auckland would be the  first one to admit that  throughout the country there is much confusion about   the number of SPCA’s  many think there is only one.

The reality is  that the Auckland SPCA is  the equivalent status of any of the branches, it is a member society which just happens to  hold the reins through its chair man.

Further confusion arises though the RNZSPCA’s own web site  where  the royal society refers to itself as  SPCA and  has actually registered the  a logo  

The donate page on the RNZSPCA web site makes you  think that you are donating to the SPCA   and in the mean time   the   Auckland SPCA  which is  now apparently driving the take over bid   registers documents at the  Registrars office as 

this is simply achieved by leaving the  real  name off by dropping the word Auckland.

This particular  example was signed By Andrea Midgen  who is now travelling the country and telling societies  that once amalgamation takes place they will have to change their names if they are not part of the one SPCA.

So  simply put the  confusion as to the entity “SPCA”  is no accident  and people  who leave   funds to  the SPCA   in their will  do so with the best of intentions and frequently with the expectation that it will support the  SPCA activities  where they live . Instead   the  funds go to  the Auckland SPCA and  are   shuffled off into Auckland SPCA trust

The wording of trust deeds is important   and in this case the wording of the SPCA trust is such that  the  funds do not have to go to the  the Auckland SPCA, RNZSPCA branches   etc  but   simply for the  purposes as set out here 

This means that the  funds can also go to Community Cat Coalition Incorporated or New Zealand Companion Animal Council Incorporated but apparently it does not go to  RNZSPCA branches which have felt the financial burden of having a paid employee thrust upon them by   the national body .

Financial hardship  is one way of making    groups change their view  on autonomy and by   creating financial pressures  on a society   control can be gained.   the Te Awamutu  Branch   reportedly  was wound up  in this manner   and Waikato closed its doors despite that  fact the $400,000 appears to have  shifted sideways from a trust where the RNZSPCA branch was once a trustee .

So the  whole one SPCA thing  looks very much as a  being contrived and driven by The SPCA,  Millions of dollars which shoul dhave gone to animal s have gone on corporate wages fro this restructuring.

The SPCA’s which have been closed could have  survived if the money paid to consultants had  found  its way to the  volunteers who  were using it for de sexing and  re homing of animals

INSPECTORATE

In March this year    an article appeared in the law society news  Anita Killeen: SPCA Auckland Pro Bono Panel of Prosecutors

In the New Year, I met the Chairman and the Board of the SPCA Auckland and gave a presentation that included a proposal to take charge of developing an initiative I believed would save the organisation money and further its goals. The Board appointed me as a Director in early 2009, and, shortly after, I implemented the strategy which is now known as the Pro Bono Panel of Prosecutors for the SPCA Auckland.

Note that this is only For Auckland.

But the   appointment  of inspectors is through the  animal welfare act   to the RNZSPCA

The organisation known as the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Incorporated is an approved organisation for the purposes of this Act.

Rumour has it that  the   one SPCA is all about  developing the inspectorate and apparently also about giving  work to a lot of  well meaning lawyers who have been sold half a story .

The animal welfare act  is a very dangerous piece of legislation a  law paper can be found here

The author of the paper   was also  apparently fooled with  the SPCA/ RNZSPCA  concept as only the SPCA gets a mention

What the author points out  about strict liability offences is   a very serious point.  In a strict liability offence the  Inspector only needs to think that your  limping Moggie needs to have gone to the vet and you  could  well be up for a massive fine .

Run with a team of lawyers  and  over zealous  inspectors  no animal owner will be safe and I fear that more animals than ever will be put down .

It will be a licence to print money  by the  monopoly which   appears to be being set up  by  bullying the  volunteers who have been  the very fabric of society out  to set up their own  organisations in their area   but will live in fear of  being  be wound up by  the    inspectors of the  mighty monopoly.

Corruption = Monopoly + discretion – Accountability

The SPCA  will be the only   private law enforcement authority .  I know the problems well I saw it with AWINZ.

Why cant   SPCA staff simply call on  MPI or Police to  take action  and prosecute .The SPCA has a vital role in education and  support services for animals

The whole fact of SPCA is about to change and as one person said

THIS WEEKEND ANIMAL WELFARE IN NZ DIED

There is nothing open and transparent about this Take over  , it is contrived, manipulated  and deceitful . There is no ability for   whole societies to be taken over  by a group of people   and those   who are posing  as  members of a society taken over by stealth should be held  accountable  to the full extent of the law , they have no legal right to file constitutions   on behalf of the members and   run  up financial burdens for the society , each should be personally responsible..  Isn’t that what Andrea Midgen said ? So why should she not be responsible for the actions on the half dozen or so  incorporated societies she claims to have  rights over when  there is no  mandate from members.

The SPCA is being corporatised ,  its  going to be  big business  , it will kill volunteering, community  groups and  will make animal lovers live in fear of persecution .   the funds which  have been given to local communities  to set up shelters  will be liquidated into corporate   wages for  accountants lawyers and consultants .

The animals will be  just  a commodity  and  in my opinion  it will be a fundamental abuse of animals to use them for the $$$ game

This is of national importance and   I certainly hope that  there will be a public investigation into this as  to me it appears that there is a gross misappropriation of charitable funds .

I also hope that  the charities commission  will  remove the charitable status of an organisation so apparently  driven for profit.