Why is it an assumption, that be it a group or individual, that to undertake good work, registered charitable status is a must, yes, perhaps if seeking  grant funding, because grant funders love nothing better than giving grants to large wasteful charities and cronies, with the small charities, more times than not, left out in the cold, so,  being a registered charity does not make an organisation better , in fact it has been proven that charity status is just a layer of red tape, where charity trustee status on a trustees CV looks good.

What Joe public are more interested in, is not some fancy status, but the fact that an organisation or individuals are doing the work they say they do and are effective, which is why the giving public are turning way from the large charities with highly paid directors, and giving to smaller local organisations.

Yes, from experience, many years ago Colin Sutherland registered Wings of Freedom as a charity and soon reverted back to the way it was originally set up, because, all he found himself doing, is running around in circles, more of an unpaid job than something to enjoy, and most important, results plumited when it came to the rescue work, so the charity was closed down with immediate.

Charity status, is not all it is cracked up to be, so will never enter such a nightmare again, and would advise others not to enter such a thing.

What is often forgotten, if outspoken like Colin Sutherland is about Owls and Birds of prey etc, these kind of views are considered political, so outspoken views are cautionary, you can imagine politicians at the best of time do not like such views, therefore  politicians would like every single organisation to be a registered charity, so they do not have to face questions about their basic stupidity.