Strictly's Shirley Ballas and JLS star help voice singing animals in RSPCA's stamp out cruelty video

A host of celebrities have united to front a viral RSPCA video of singing animals to help stamp out cruelty and how we view some of them.

The For Every Kind campaign is launching with a new brand for the RSPCA - for the first time in 50 years - and a new advert which sees singing animals performing Aretha Franklin’s iconic hit to call for Respect.

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The animals including a snail appearing to be squashed and a spider meeting its maker are some of the sad images in the video. The video comes as it has been shown that nine in 10 people think dogs experience happiness - but this falls to three in 10 for rats and four in 10 for chickens which is why the RSPCA has said we need to radically our relationship with animals.

Celebrities including RSPCA President and conservationist Chris Packham and RSPCA ambassadors champion ballroom dancer and TV judge Shirley Ballas, actor Brian Blessed, JLS singer and TV presenter JB Gill, and TV personality Pete Wicks, are all supporting the campaign and lending their voices to the warbling creatures.

The charity reveals new polling by Savanta which shows a stark difference in the way we see animals, depending on whether they are in our homes, in labs, on farms or in the wild and says we have become disconnected to many of the animals around us.

Polling of more than 2,500 UK adults reveals 90% of people think dogs can experience positive emotions like happiness but only 34% think rats can and just 42 per cent think chickens can.

But in reality, both experience lives rich in emotions - rats love to play and even giggle when tickled, and chickens can count and some show empathy for their flock mates.

People were also more likely to think pets deserved a ‘happy and healthy life’ compared to animals used in science - with nearly nine in 10 believing a pet rabbit deserved such a life, compared to just under seven in 10 thinking it mattered for a rabbit in a laboratory. 

Just one in 20 thought dogs don’t deserve happy, healthy lives, which rises to one in four for rats in labs and one in five for foxes living in the city.

Chris Sherwood, Chief Executive of the RSPCA, said: “We are devoted to our cats and dogs, but we often don’t realise we are connected to billions of other animals in our lives, through the things we buy and the choices we make. 

“All animals are amazing, but sadly we’ve come to see many creatures as commodities and we value their lives differently because of it.”

“We need to realise that all animals have feelings and emotions, many can feel joy, anger, fear, and more, and whether they are pets, wildlife, on farms or in labs, they deserve to have a fulfilled life of their own.”

Ballroom dancer and Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas, who plays a Chihuahua in a handbag in the film, said this important campaign was close to her heart and urged people to get involved and find out how they can do more to help all animals.

She said: “I love my dog Charlie with all my heart. He has always been there for me, just like I’ve always been there for him.

“When I lived in the United States, my son called me and said ‘Mum, you have to come and get this little dog’. I remember seeing him for the first time at the rescue with all his wired and unkempt hair.

“He’d been hit by a car that left him with a broken hip. I saved him from the green mile. Our bond is super strong and I can't ever imagine why anyone wouldn’t show kindness to the animals around them.”

This year, the RSPCA hopes to inspire one million acts of kindness for animals to celebrate its 200th anniversary. To find out your kind of kindness and turn it into action for animals click HERE.