Having had phone conversations where I never did manage to make the person on the other end believe our clinic isn't run by the PDSA, the Scots have my sympathy, even if I do think they might have phased it all a bit more tactfully.
The USPCA are even more unlucky with the potential for confusion with the other Irish SPCA's in the Republic.
This earlier article gives some background on why the three societies need to be separate legal entities.
Legacies are always going to be a contentious issue, as there's no way to go back in time and ask the testator why a particular charity was selected. Individual RSPCA branches are separate charities in their own right and there's almost equal scope for ill-feeling about whether legacies should go to a particular branch, or to into the national "pot".
Briefly: If you live in Scotland, then your local SPCA is the Scottish SPCA. In Northern Ireland, it's the USPCA. In England and Wales, you have a choice between the National Society (your legacy will be used to fund activities such as the Inspectorate which are managed centrally), or your local branch (your legacy will be used to fund animal welfare work within the branch area).
If you would like to make a legacy to RSPCA Cambridge (see map for our area of activity), the way to avoid any possibility of confusion is to ask your solicitor to specify our full name "RSPCA Cambridge and District Branch" and charity number (205098).
And finally...
A spokesman for the RSPCA denied that the charity had run Scotland-specific fundraising campaigns. He said: "Some digital channels don't allow adverts not to be shown in some areas, but we refer all Scottish donors to the Scottish SPCA. It is more trouble than it is worth for us to aggravate people."I do actually believe him, even if no-one else does...
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