It has been some time since I have updated the website page and I thought it was an opportunity to provide you all with a brief synopsis of the recent 2007 Annual Report for the North Region, Group N9 which I presented at the Scarborough Branch AGM at the Esplanade Hotel on 21 May 2008.

The year seems to pass by at great speed and we soon arrive at the time of year when branches hold their Annual General Meetings (AGM) and re-elect their Trustees and Committee for the many branches. The hectic work undertaken by the group would not be possible without all the help provided by the local RSPCA branches within the group area - their provision of help ranges from the boarding of animals to financial assistance with vet bills. It was of valuable assistance in 2007 that some branches within the group were willing and able to assist in the boarding of animals across branch boundaries in the group area - some branches use private boarding facilities, and their willingness and help is also appreciated.

In November 2007 I was promoted to Chief Inspector of Group N9, replacing Paul Stilgoe who was promoted as Regional Superintendent in the South-East. At the Scarborough AGM, Inspector Helen Smith attended and replaces me as the Scarborough Inspector.

Inspectorate Complaints
During 2007, the inspectors in the group were allocated 5,378 to deal with, 2 of them receiving over 1,000, with the rest not far behind this figure. To analyse this further, and to provide some idea of the ongoing high workload, 3,977 complaints were completed and closed with a satisfactory outcome for animals reported, and the Inspectors made a total of 6,687 visits! Some of these complaints were dealt with by the issue of a verbal warning - in 2007 174 verbal warnings were issued. In incidents where the matters were of a more serious nature, 8 Adult Written Cautions were administered.

A total of 38 case files were submitted to the Prosecution Case Management Department for decision on whether or not to prosecute, and a total of 29 convictions were secured in the courts across the group area. Some of these cases have been difficult for the inspectorate to deal with.

In November 2007, at Doncaster Magistrates Court, a young couple - who starved two dogs to such an extent that the investigating inspector was surprised that even one was still alive - were banned from keeping animals for ten years for causing unnecessary suffering under the new Animal Welfare Act. They were both required by the court to undertake 150 hours unpaid work each, and to pay RSPCA costs of £274.

In the Hull area, a mother and daughter were taken to court for owning a horse which was tethered and had a deep infected gash on the top of its head. The horse was signed over to the RSPCA and subsequently rehomed via our equine centre at Felledge. The owners pleaded guilty and were banned from keeping horses.

Animal Collection Officers
Among the rescues the Animal Collection Officers attended to this year, some of the more unusual ones were:

*a Black Widow Spider which had arrived at a well-known supermarket in Scarborough

*a Harris Hawk which was found entangled by its jesses in a tree in Knottingley

*stray donkeys found in Whitley Bridge

*a King Snake which turned up in a toilet cistern in Hull

*deer, involved in road traffic accidents, including one on the central reservation of the A168 in Thirsk

The North group 9 has had a busier year in 2007 than 2006, and no doubt 2008 will continue to provide a high workload, but there is the prospect of new inspectors joining the group to assist us.