Families give £9m more to donkeys than military veterans in wills
Dogs, cats and donkeys are being left more money in wills than veterans at some of the biggest charities, analysis shows.
A comparison of the annual accounts of the five largest veterans charities and the five largest charities for animals shows roughly £230m was left to animal causes last year, compared to just £50m for former servicemen and women.
Legacy gifts to Royal British Legion, which runs the Remembrance Day Poppy Appeal , were £23.3m last year – down almost £5m in the past year and £9m less than the amount of legacy donations to the nation's largest charity for donkeys.
The Donkey Sanctuary, which receives the majority of its funds through people's wills, saw its income from estates reach £32.4m.
Combat Stress, a charity set up to help former military personnel cope with the mental wounds of having been in battle, received just £1.9m in legacy payments – a reduction of almost 50pc in the past year.
By contrast, Cats Protection, the nation's biggest feline welfare charity, saw its legacy donations increase from £41.2m in 2022 to £43.4m last year.
The Dogs Trust, which collected £54.7m from wills, and the animal welfare charity PDSA, which received £56.4m, both saw their donations outstrip all the top five military charities combined.
Donations from wills to the nation's biggest animal charity the RSPCA were £83.9m last year while another £27.6m was gifted in wills to Battersea Dogs Home.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) netted £44.2m from people's estates, while World Horse Welfare was bequeathed £13.2m.
Help for Heroes, famously supported by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex, collected just £12.5m from wills last year.
It comes ahead of Remembrance Sunday when the nation pays respect to its war heroes. Many charities saw legacy donations dip in 2020 as the Covid pandemic caused delays to the administration of probates , but incomes have bounced back in recent years as officials work through the backlog.
The Royal British Legion said in its annual report this year that donations to the charity had been badly affected by the downturn in the economy.
It said: "In 2023, our total income reduced by £6.4m to £147.1m as donations were impacted by the weak economic outlook and high inflation.
"We are rebalancing our budgets and reducing our expenditure, to ensure that our finances are sustainable for the long term."
The Donkey Sanctuary's annual report said: "Legacy income remains an important source of income for us, and we are extremely grateful to all who have remembered us in their will.
"During 2023, legacy income continues to be impacted by the ongoing difficulties that remain in clearing the backlog of processing probate created by the changes to computer systems in 2019 and were augmented by the difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Although some recovery in dealing with the backlog has been made in the early part of 2024, it remains significant. We are hopeful that further improvements to the backlog will be made, as so many charities are having to adapt programmes of work while we wait to be notified of the income due to us."
