Are animal charity ads/appeals counterproductive?

Large charities are all "hard sell" businesses and spend fortunes on these types of ads. This is not what I perceive a charity to be, I therefore no longer give to any of them. I choose small independent causes these days.

Anya I think many people do give in response to those adverts, even if they do sometimes switch off - no doubt they're expensive to broadcast so must more than pay their way.

I don't know Katek, but I think charities watch the responses their appeals cause, if we don't know the truth we can't do anything. If my granddaughters hadn't watched an appeal against cruelty to Orangutans I wouldn't be foster parent of one

There are so many charities covering so many needs and so they have to try anything to get money in,

I just wondered anniebach that if people are put off watching the ads and appeals because of graphic footage, then they may not get the contact numbers etc to enable them to donate.

Durrell and injured jockeys fund channel their donations direct to those in need, that's where my money goes

That first £3 a month you feel obliged to give seeing sad pics only funds the next lot of paperwork they send you to try and get you to fund bigger and bigger amounts, have seen old people I work with drawn into this again and again. Do not believe your money helps anyone unless you give it to the individual in need. Be really selective where your money goes, those that can afford tv ads earn too much and why does the CEO of the donkey sanctuary demand £60,000 a year salary?
I had an acquaintance who was high up at the blue cross and earned a fortune, no interest in animals but admitted that charities pay a fortune, not a nice feeling tbh
Very kind of you to give money but do your research first

I find them distressing to watch but think they should be shown, I doubt people say that was too distressing so I will not donate .

I can sympathise with that Katek - very much so.

What I'm not prepared to do anymore, in response to your query vampire is produce yet more facts and figures which disprove such urban myths as I know that opinions, once fixed, are very hard to change. Entrenched is your term, not mine, but....

anya of course I feel compassion - so much so that that is probably why I can't watch the ads or FB pics. I already support 2 animal charities and 2 children's charities on a monthly basis, my pets are all from rescue centres, I can do no more. That's what I find really upsetting. I can't help that particular dog or donkey. It's not lack of compassion or self centredness but quite the opposite. I do what I can but cannot fix everything.

Anya are you suggesting I'm always entrenched in my views? I'm happy to debate and have, at times, been persuaded that I need to adapt my opinions.

However, if you feel you don't want to discuss my views on emotional blackmail and misleading adverts then fair enough.

Riverwalk, I totally see where you're coming from. The things you talk about are very distressing and not something to try to take on board when you already feel overwhelmed.

I understand that Riverwalk but was just wondering if we give to help the situation. That way we can feel we've at least done something to help, if only a drop in the ocean.

Vampire I won't argue with you as there's no point.

I think a lot of people feel like that Riverwalk

I have the World Service on overnight, every night, and admit to occasionally switching off if there's a programme on say FGM, Yemen, Nepalese village girls being sold into prostitution, etc.

I feel so bad doing it - but sometimes I'm already lying there mulling over/anxious about something or other and just can't take any more 'bad news'.

I listen to so much stuff and do know what's going on in the world and as a result get over-loaded at times. I'm very mindful that the unfortunate people concerned can't just switch-off their situation.

I don't feel compassion from watching TV adverts. I find them annoying and object to the emotional blackmail.

I also object to the misleading adverts you often see in the ladies toilets at motorway service stations. They show a young girl and the caption states something along the lines of...'She's lost her home and her family. Now she's got her period.' When I read it I thought about those poor women and decided to donate. Then I read the small print which said that my donation would go into a general fundraising pot which may not be used to provide sanitary products to menstruating women. So the poster bears no resemblance to where your money might go.

I give my widow's mite to either the Sally Army, the local food bank, the local homeless and rootless shelter and a fistula clinic in Ethiopia. That way I avoid donating to the massive wages paid to most charity executives. I also put money into the collection buckets for the kid's rugby/football/other groups in the supermarkets when they're raising money by helping you to pack. None of these charities spends vast amounts of money on slick advertising campaigns.

Anya you said what I think very well put.... I totally agree it shouldn't be about our discomfort we need shocking, we need to have our eyes opened. We can't live in a bubble I had a friend who would never listen to any news for fear of making herself 'unhappy'

So how much worse is it for the poor animal that has to suffer? I hope some of you manage to feel compassion for the animal and donate rather than think how it upsets you?

The ads are so terrible, I cry and snap the telly off.

I think we've become immune to these ads now tbh - there is so much suffering in the world and as mere individuals we can't do much if anything about it. I donate to several charities on a monthly basis which is as much as one person can do. The horrendously distressing pictures on FB I scroll past without reading.

I find that people like Compassion in World Farming always warn that you may not want to look at the pictures in their literature.

Today i saw an appeal from a local animal rescue home asking for donations , i just wish they would show some of the animals that had been re homed aswell as those needing homes, there are so many dogs in this country that need a home , and i think if these rescues showed some that have been rehomed and how their lives was so different i am sure it would encourage more to home a rescue dog from this country instead of all these dogs that are being bought over from other countries to be rehomed over here.

I think that actual documentaries are much better, to highlight a situation than a tv ad plea for money.

I think in some cases they are counter productive Katek some are awful to watch ( often when you are sitting with a cuppa and biscuit and the ads in the middle of a drama/comedy you are watching.) I agree that they are too graphic and are upsetting.Like a lot of things now.

I'm sure some animals are mistreated but if, for example, you rely on your donkey to help you make a living then it's in your interests to look after it.

I went on line to look at the water aid adverts....the ones with the cow peeing in the water that the child is collecting. The same peeing cow appears in every advert only the child changes.

Girls getting married to older men. It isn't long ago that happened here. In many countries a man has to be financially secure before he can take a wife so is bound to be older. I'm not saying being married young is a good thing. It's just that there are different ways of looking at the same event.

We see this in most appeals now, starving children, refugees from war torn countries etc. I think we have become desensitized to an extent, not you Katek obviously.
I'm not sure what should be shown, the truth but not in a sensationlised way.

I don't know about the effectiveness of the advertisements but real life situations do make people more aware. About 20 years ago 24 horses were found to be malnourished and in poor condition on a local farm. The owner was prosecuted by RSPCA. Since then the local residents have become very watchful over all horses and ponies in the area (rural East Anglia). A few years ago on a different field there were 4 ponies left to graze near my home and several people asked me who was looking after them. The owner could not afford to feed them (one needed to be put to sleep but she couldn't afford the charges that would be incurred). I phoned a local parish councillor who kept horses and asked for help. Within 30 minutes her DH delivered a huge bale of hay to the ponies. A few weeks later the ponies were moved several miles away.