High-handed RSPB ?

[Kev-B]

I received this today, as part of the regular Haith's Newsletter ..

The RSPB’s ban on bird food advertising

It made me rather angry, at what I see (and not for the first time) as a rather high-handed attitude from the RSPB ..

Given recent posts regarding their deplorable Customer Service record, I for one am rapidly running out of patience with this organisation & am seriously considering withdrawing my support & cancelling my Membership ...

What do others think ? .. There's a "Feedback" type survey on the Haith's Homepage re this particular issue ..

Bye for now ..

Kev ..

[Morph]

Just to play devils advocate here.
From a purely business point of view why advertise a rival product in your own publication, I'm a joiner and I wouldn't drive around in a van advertising another joiner on the side.
Having said that I will not be renewing my RSPB membership this year, not for this subject but for RSPBs poor administration.

[Kev-B]

Fair comment Morph .. and point taken ..

Problem is the RSPB can't seem to decide what it wants to be .. is it a "Charity" & thus dependent upon donations (in which case it can ill-afford to alienate anyone) .. or is it a "Business" ?

In reality they do very little for "Birders" in general or their Members in particular .. my local RSPB Members Group raised some £3,000 in the past year, which was donated to our local Reserve (Blacktoft Sands) .. but our Indoor Events Organiser had great difficulty in getting anyone from Blacktoft to speak to the Group about the work of the Reserve & how our donations were being spent ..

Similarly, the RSPB have a scheme whereby local RSPB Members Groups can have a plaque sited on Hides at their local Reserve ... "Certainly ...that'll be £25.00 please" ... after a donation of £3,000 .... ???

By comparison WWT (to which I also belong) run frequent special "Members only" events at all their Reserves .. which at least makes one feel that efforts on their behalf are appreciated ...


They can certainly whistle for my usual order of Christmas Cards & Calendars this year ...

Bye for now ..

Kev ..

[Rob_D]

Kev, I sympathize with you on the RSPB. They really do some good work and I don't want to put them down. However, IMHO, they seem divorced from their membership.

What little I have had to do with large charities has left me a little shocked - they are often run like a competitive businesses and that's not always aligned with the "greater good" that their members want or imagine is the purpose of the charity. Sadly, perhaps the reality is that if RSPB did not put it's income before it's membership, it might lose money and therefore lose it's ability to act and to influence. I hope I really am wrong and just being cynical, but that's sometimes the way I see it.

So I don't keep an RSPB membership (I am a member of the BTO and local wildlife trusts), but I don't mind giving them money to help run the reserves.

[Tormentil]

Originally Posted by Rob_D

Kev, I sympathize with you on the RSPB. They really do some good work and I don't want to put them down. However, IMHO, they seem divorced from their membership.

....... - they are often run like a competitive businesses and that's not always aligned with the "greater good" that their members want..........

I thought the RSPB was run for the needs of birds not the members.

[Ukwildlifeo]

I quick note on the RSPB. If you choose to join do so at your favourite RSPB reserve - that way that reserve gets a nice bit of money from the RSPB, where if you join online, it all goes in the big RSPB pot.

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by Tormentil

I thought the RSPB was run for the needs of birds not the members.

Good point Tormentil.

The RSPB have over 1,000,000 members and works over the whole of the UK with many reserves protecting endangered species, how many other bird charities have this much power, or even just say they own that much protected land?

I see what you're saying regarding the need for them to look after the members, but without the said members the RSPB couldn't keep maintaining the reserves or campaigning for the protection of birds.

This is where you know you're doing the right thing in being a member of the RSPB.

[Fourwings]

I've not been a member for several years now, I just prefer to join things that benefit my local area, eg Wildlife trust & local ornithological society.
On a national scale I am a member of the British Dragonfly society & Butterfly conservation.

On a slightly different note regarding the RSPB, I was more than a little disgusted at the RSPB's plans to allow the sea to reclaim part of the Titchwell reserve, this is one of the best reserves in the UK and home for several very rare species of Bird etc.....
If the reason is the financial cost of maintaining sea defences then why not look at channeling a bit more of its funding into that sort of project rather than constantly expanding its commercial side??

Just a thought, but I'm sure there will be those who disagree

[Jason Green]

Fourwings: Out of interest, have you seen The RSPB: Hard choices at Titchwell ?

[Fourwings]

Originally Posted by Jason Green

Fourwings: Out of interest, have you seen The RSPB: Hard choices at Titchwell ?

Yes Jason, I had read it in the past, but I still disagree with the logic behind the decision.
I have a couple of good friends who live and work on the North Norfolk coast, one of whom actually does contract work helping to repair sea defences from time to time. His opinion is that, Yes, there is a risk of a large scale flood occuring but if the sea defences were maintained to the standard that they were after the great storm of 1953 then the threat would be almost non-existant.
Unfortunately its financial limitations that have lead to this descision.
I fully understand and support the RSPB's concerns for the reserve as a whole, after all to loose the reedbeds would be catastrophic, But I just cant help thinking that loosing the salt water lagoons will be very bad for the reserve and its wildlife.