The BBC presenter Chris Packham and the former Green party leader Caroline Lucas have resigned from the RSPCA animal-welfare charity, accusing the organisation of “legitimising cruelty”.
It comes after an undercover investigation from Animal Rising, which campaigns for a plant-based food system, used hidden cameras to reveal animal cruelty at RSPCA-approved abattoirs.
Packham, who was RSPCA president, and Lucas, who was vice-president, criticised the charity’s response to the videos.
“I believe the charity has lost sight of its mandate to protect all animals from cruelty and suffering,” Packham said.
The charity runs the RSPCA Assured scheme as a stamp of approval for humane animal farming, intended to drive up industry practices by setting standards above legal requirements.
But two investigations by Animal Rising – the first published in May and the second in December – revealed animal abuse. Workers were seen kicking and hitting pigs, inappropriately stunning sheep, hitting cows in the face with a paddle, and other improper and violent acts against animals.
Packham and Lucas attempted to pressure the RSPCA internally to address the breaches. But, according to a joint letter seen by the Times, Lucas reported “numerous fruitless meetings” with RSPCA leaders, “delays [and] defensiveness” but no “urgent action”.
In a statement, Packham said he had been “tirelessly pushing for reform”, but “I’ve seen no meaningful change. With the irrefutable evidence of abuse uncovered, I must prioritise my love for animals above all else and step down immediately.”
Packham told the Guardian that the abuse footage made him “physically sick”, bringing him to tears and causing him to lose sleep, and added the RSPCA’s certification scheme was “an ecological, environmental, social and economic catastrophe” that should be shut down.
Lucas said the “systemic cruelty exposed was unbearable to witness”.
“While the RSPCA’s response was to suspend the implicated facilities and launch yet another investigation, they failed to confront the deeper flaws of [RSPCA Assured] itself,” she said. “This approach not only fails to uphold their own standards but also risks misleading the public and legitimising cruelty.”
An RSPCA spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry to see Chris Packham and Caroline Lucas step down after many years of support and having achieved so much together for animal welfare.”
The organisation said it had openly discussed how to boost welfare standards with the pair and “have welcomed their challenge”, but that “differing views on how best to address the incredibly complex and difficult issue of farmed animal welfare” eventually led to their resignations on Friday.
The charity defended its record with the RSPCA Assured scheme, pointing to improvements including “CCTV in slaughterhouses, banning barren battery cages for hens and sow stalls for pigs, giving salmon more space to swim and developing slower growing chicken breeds who have better quality of life”.
After Animal Rising’s first investigation, the RSPCA commissioned an independent review of certified farms. It concluded the scheme was “operating effectively to provide assurance that animal welfare standards are being met”.
The news comes after Brian May, the Queen guitarist and former RSPCA vice-president, resigned in September, saying the charity’s response was “completely inadequate”.
