Why don’t you name and shame?

Stories about animal cruelty prosecutions provoke some of the most emotive reactions we see on our social media channels. And many people ask why we don’t ‘name and shame’ the people who are convicted of animal cruelty offences.

There’s generally no legal impediment to RSPCA WA including names in articles about convicted animal cruelty offenders. We choose not to. And while there are many reasons behind this choice, they are all motivated by compassion, respect for the courts, and the knowledge that animal cruelty cases are rarely black and white.

The punishment for people convicted of animal cruelty is decided by the court. We respect the magistrate's decision. There is no place in a compassionate, professional organisation for us to have the attitude that we need to add to that punishment by facilitating public shaming. And we don't ever want to encourage or facilitate vigilantism.

There are many other reasons that inform our policy of not 'naming and shaming' animal cruelty offenders. You can find out more by reading this article.