RSPCA: Chris Packham and Caroline Lucas leave charity amid claims of abattoir cruelty

In its latest investigation, Animal Rising singled out four slaughterhouses where it said “experts found systemic animal abuse”.

It said its investigators had found that “in one abattoir, 85% of pigs were sedated incorrectly, leaving the animals conscious during slaughter, and in another, 96% of cows were stabbed with an electric prod, a practice banned by the RSPCA and 46% of the cows showed clear signs of panic or escape behaviour.

“There was also frequent verbal and physical abuse by workers, and animals watching in horror and panic as other animals were killed or stunned in front of them.”

Speaking to Radio 4’s PM programme, Packham said he had “sadly and after much consideration… resigned from the RSPCA”.

While he said it does “enormously very good work” across the UK, “it is under siege by the Assured Scheme”, which he said was like a “millstone” around the charity’s neck.

“This year there have been quite serious breaches at some of the farms they (RSPCA) insure and most recently and most worryingly at some abattoirs…

“When I saw the footage that had been collected from those companies… I can’t say it was that horrible.”

“Of course, the community immediately suspended these slaughterhouses and launched an investigation, but the initiation of investigations has been going on for a long time.”

He added that he has been campaigning on the secured schemes for some time but has “not been able to see the reforms that I needed to see and as a consequence I have come to a point where I can’t apply more pressure in a useful way inside, I’ll have to go to the outside”.

In an earlier statement published on Animal Rising’s website, Packham said he prioritized his “love of animals above all else” and resigned immediately following the “irrefutable evidence of abuse that was uncovered”.

He accused the RSPCA of making “no meaningful change” after “years of… pushing for reforms within the Assured schemes”.

“I think the charity has lost its mandate to protect all animals from cruelty and suffering out of sight,” he added.

In a separate statement, Lucas said: “The recent horrific revelations of abuse at RSPCA-approved slaughterhouses, filmed undercover by Animal Rising, were the last straw for me.

“The systemic cruelty exposed was unbearable to witness.

“While the RSPCA’s response was to suspend the facilities implicated and launch another investigation, they failed to confront the deeper failings of the scheme itself.

“This approach not only fails to uphold their own standards, but also risks misleading the public and legitimizing cruelty.”

In a statement, the RSPCA said: “We agree with Chris and Caroline on so many issues and have achieved so much together for animals, but we disagree on how best to address the incredibly complex and difficult issue of farmed animal welfare.

“We have discussed our work to raise farmed animal welfare standards openly with them at length on many occasions and it is simply not right that we have not taken urgent action.

“We took allegations of poor welfare incredibly seriously and launched an independent review of 200 farms which concluded it was ‘working effectively’ to improve animal welfare.

“We are taking strong steps to improve welfare oversight, fully implementing recommendations, including a significant increase in unannounced visits, and exploring technology such as body-worn cameras and CCTV, supported by £2m of investment.”

You can listen to the full interview with Chris Packham on BBC Radio 4’s PM program at 17:00 GMT.