2024 Free

Trustees' Report and Accounts 2024

The RSPCA is the world's oldest and largest animal welfare charity, operating across England and Wales since 1824. In 2024, 61,000 cruelty complaints were investigated; 527 animal abusers were convicted; 47,966 animals received personalised care; 26,294 animals were rehomed; 5,989 wild animals were returned to the wild; and 200,000+ members of the public used the online triage tool. Total income was £152.5m; total expenditure £174.4m. Five new animal welfare laws were secured including a ban on live animal exports.

Report snapshot
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About

Animal rescue and care (inspectorate, animal rescue volunteers, wildlife centres, animal hospitals, rehoming centres); RSPCA Assured farm welfare scheme (nearly 4,000 farms); advocacy and lobbying; prevention and education (WildThings, school programmes, Duke of Edinburgh); online triage system; community support (pet food banks, Community Paws events); RSPCA branches (134 branches, 48 animal centres, 25 clinics); RSPCA Trading; RSPCA Europe Custom geography from upload: England and Wales

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 61,000 cruelty complaints investigated; 527 convictions secured; 40% more urgent cruelty/neglect cases attended following launch of online triage tool
Key Metric 2 47,966 animals received personalised care; 26,294 animals rehomed; 5,989 injured/orphaned wild animals returned to the wild; 13,637 wild animals taken in
Key Metric 3 200,000+ people used the new online triage tool; 800,000+ people in millions-strong movement; 424,000 regular giving supporters; 4,644 new volunteers welcomed; total income £152.5m

Key Outcomes

  • Five new animal welfare laws achieved in 2024: ban on live animal exports; CCTV in Welsh slaughterhouses; Pet Abduction Act (pet theft now a crime); cat microchipping law; primates licensing scheme; Government committed to phasing out animal experiments
  • Online triage tool launched August 2024 — response times dropped 42% for high-need animals; 200,000+ people empowered to help animals themselves; rebrand launched in 200th anniversary year attracted 11,000% increase in career searches
  • Net expenditure of £9.5m in 2024 (vs £13.7m surplus in 2023) due to increased animal centre/hospital costs and digital transformation investment; legacy income £89.7m; RSPCA Assured commissioned second independent review following media scrutiny; 200th anniversary marked with rebrand and refreshed 10-year strategy

Geography

UK-Wide

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
Total income £18,180,000 and total expenditure £18,560,000 (year ended 31 December 2024, charity no. 1084958 England/Wales and SC039654 Scotland); in 2024 spent £3.8m on...
Key Metric 2
700+ members supported through in-person visits and support calls in 2025; 697 support grants allocated in 2025 for essential items including specialist clothing, cooling...
Key Metric 3
Largest global investment in EB research to date: multi-million-pound drug repurposing trial provisionally agreed with LifeArc partner at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation...
£34,000 raised in 2025 winter appeal supporting families like Darcie's with specialist items, emotional support and research; 697 support grants delivered in 2025; first Members Connect event in Northern Ireland; EB Priorities Setting Partnership study completed providing global research roadmap
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
22,507 households helped through RBL casework and specialist support services across 66 countries
Key Metric 2
22,600 grants given to those in need, totalling £11.8 million
Key Metric 3
733 beneficiaries represented at tribunals, resulting in £24.5 million in War Pensions awards
1,548 new families living with dementia supported by RBL Admiral Nurses service
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
3,600 blind veterans received support across the UK; 447 new blind veterans started receiving support in 2024/25
Key Metric 2
1,598 referrals to rehabilitation services completed; 313 veterans received assistive technology training
Key Metric 3
997 volunteers donated 26,824 hours of support; befriending service awarded Quality in Befriending Excellence — one of only 11 organisations in the UK to...
1,831 National Creative Wellbeing Project packs issued to help veterans reconnect with creativity and independence
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
349,000+ people completed the Know Your Risk tool to assess their risk of type 2 diabetes in 2024
Key Metric 2
£4 million invested in 17 new research projects; total active grants portfolio worth over £45 million
Key Metric 3
32% of people completing NHS England's Path to Remission programme — which Diabetes UK campaigned for — put their type 2 diabetes into remission
Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge invested over £23 million in 19 projects across 161 experts from 47 institutions in 8 countries since 2022