Press Releases

RSPCA needs policing after “unjustified” court case against top polo player.
      (Various national, regional & local newspapers & broadcast media)

The RSPCA needs to be properly policed so it doesn’t ruin any more lives of caring animal owners, according to one of the world’s top vets.

Colin Vogel, who has specialised in the care of horses during the whole of his 32 year career, spoke after a judge at Gloucester Crown Court threw out an RSPCA case against one of the country’s top military polo players who it had accused of cruel treatment to his polo ponies.

Wing Commander Afzal Ashraf, a former Great Britain international and captain of the Combined Services Polo Team, was convicted at Cheltenham Magistrates Court in April this year of causing unnecessary suffering to two of his Argentine polo ponies. He was then fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £7,000 costs. Yesterday (Thursday 5th July), his appeal was upheld and the charges against him dismissed.

Mr.Vogel, who has written the RSPCA’s Complete Horse Care manual and who gave evidence at both hearings, says the animal charity does an important job in bringing to justice people who are genuinely guilty of animal cruelty. But, he adds that, too often, the RSPCA gets it wrong and, on this occasion, had broken its own rules in its investigation of its “unjustified” case against Wing Commander Ashraf.

The Norfolk-based vet, who has written 8-10 books on the care of horses, printed in as many languages, says he has seen the damage the RSPCA has caused by prosecuting innocent people. In one of the many RSPCA cases he has been involved with, the defendant committed suicide during the hearing because of the pressure of the case. He says Britain’s biggest, oldest and richest animal charity has previously been found guilty of perverting the course of justice and was fined £10,000 in the High Court (RSPCA v Woodhouse, 1985).

Commenting on the Ashraf case, Mr.Vogel said: “The first RSPCA vet failed to carry out a detailed test of both Mr.Ashraf’s ponies when he arrived at the field where they were being kept. Instead, they were taken to a nearby RSPCA centre and not properly examined until two days later by a second RSPCA vet. Any potential problems would have been severely exacerbated during the two day gap thereby giving a false and more exaggerated impression of their condition.”

Wing Commander Ashraf, aged 43, who lives near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, works for the RAF’s Training Group Defence Agency. He has been playing polo for 13 years and has been riding for 25 years. Polo is a great passion of his, as his wife well knows – he proposed to her on the oldest polo pitch in England and told her then that if she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life then she would have to share him with polo!

“I am relieved that, finally, I have been vindicated and proved to be innocent of the charges against me,” he said. “This appeal hearing will, I hope, have helped prove that I have always been and will always be incapable of causing cruelty to not just my own animals but to any animal.”

“This has been a matter of honour and principle and one to which I have gone to the greatest lengths to prove my innocence. I have been forced to sell my house and two of my three ponies below the market price as well as my horse box in order to pay for my appeal. In fact, I have been so upset by these unwarranted allegations, that I have even stopped playing polo and riding since this unfortunate affair started,” he added.

Robert Burke, a former Great Britain international and one of Europe’s top coaches, has known Wing Commander Ashraf for 15 years. He says the Wing Commander – who he calls Affi – is an animal lover who is incapable of causing suffering to them. Mr.Burke says this was demonstrated most emphatically at the end of last year at the prestigious Indian Millennium Tournament in Manipur when Wing Commander Ashraf forfeited the team’s chance of winning because of his concern for their ponies’ welfare.

“Affi was managing the British team in which I was playing,” said Mr.Burke. “At half time, our team was offered ponies to play in the remaining two chukkas against Australia. But, Affi felt the horses, which had been ridden by the other team in the first half, were too tired. Affi said ‘it would have been cruel’ to continue using them. And, even though there was a huge amount at stake in this week-long competition, Affi refused to let his team ride them, thereby forfeiting the game and giving up our chance of winning.

“Anyway, it wouldn’t make financial sense to neglect polo ponies when you consider the cost of buying, importing and keeping them. It costs about £3,000-£4,000 to import them. But, the cost of each pony can range from £3,000-£10,000 at the low end to £25,000-£200,000 plus at the top end – then you’ve got the cost of caring for them, as well,” he added.

Editor's Note:

Victims of the RSPCA has been set up by Carol and Dave Jewitt and represents people who feel their civil rights have been violated by the animal charity. The organisation aims to force the RSPCA to change the way in which it operates. Victims of the RSPCA consider the charity has a vital role to play in bringing real perpetrators of animal cruelty to justice. But, they say that, too often, RSPCA inspectors bludgeon their way into the lives of animal owners who are genuinely innocent of cruelty and are treated as guilty until proven innocent and not vice-versa. The Jewitts say they have numerous cases of injustice – some of them shocking.