North-west UK rescues

[EffOneGPs]

Hi everyone,

i'm doing research on potentially adopting guinea pigs around the Greater Manchester region and whilst i've noted the trusted rescues at Milhaven, RSPCA Macclesfield and The Potteries, i've noted there's more local rescues such as the Lancashire Guinea Pig Rescue and Cavy Haven at Winsford but they're not on the Locator.

Is there any reason why they're on the "trusted list"? I.e- have they been blacklisted, simply didn't reach the standard required by the forum, etc?

 

[Swissgreys]

In general it is becasue they either haven't met the Forum standards, or may simply not have applied to be listed and answered the in-depth questionnaire provided by the Forum.

Sadly in th UK (and many other countries) pretty much anyone can set up and call themselves a 'rescue' so we try to only recommend places that people have had recent and direct dealings with, and those that can verify they meet certain standards of health, welfare and care.
Just becasue somewhere isn't on the list, doesn't mean it's a bad place to get piggies from though.

If you deal with a place that you feel is excellent we always welcome new rescues to ask about being added to our list.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi everyone,

i'm doing research on potentially adopting guinea pigs around the Greater Manchester region and whilst i've noted the trusted rescues at Milhaven, RSPCA Macclesfield and The Potteries, i've noted there's more local rescues such as the Lancashire Guinea Pig Rescue and Cavy Haven at Winsford but they're not on the Locator.

Is there any reason why they're on the "trusted list"? I.e- have they been blacklisted, simply didn't reach the standard required by the forum, etc?

Hi and welcome

We can only guarantee that you are in safe hands with the carefully vetted rescues in our list - and not for lack of trying to include as many rescues of good welfare standard and practice as possible. Some places wanting to join the list or having been recommended by members have never bothered to send us back our detailed questionnaire for whatever reason; some places we would not send it to in the first place. We can however not name names for legal reasons. But it has been quite a learning curve for us over the years!

Please be aware that anybody in this country can call themselves a rescue or a breeder (or anything in between; the two are not necessarily as clearly separate as you may expect) without licensing, supervision and welfare control. You get the whole spectrum; by far not everything is necessarily obvious. It is also a much more fluid scene than you would expect with rescues closing down or new ones getting up and running for a while. Unlike what most people are thinking, the RSPCA is very limited in what they can do and there is no institional/govermental control whatsoever.
You may find this guide here interesting: Rescues, Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs

It is ultimately your choice as to who you want to use. Our rescue list is there as a helpful guide through what is much more of a very complex minefield than you would expect for prospective owners who are mainly looking for a safy and problem-free ride.

 

[VickiA]

As has been said above only rescues that meet and continue to meet our standards are included on our recommended list.

As anyone can set themselves up as a rescue, and there is no mandatory regulation or inspection, we feel we can only recommend the rescues that we have personal experience of.

As we are a non breeding, non-showing forum this can also limit our list of recommended rescues. Wherever there is breeding and showing activity, there will be a “rescue” to take old stock, sub prime breeding stock, and stock that didn’t meet the breed standards. The rescues on our list do not take in from breeders unless there are exceptional circumstances. One such example in recent years was a breeder with a terminal illness who had to close down their breeding and showing operation and needed to rehome their entire stock of piggies as they were unable to take care of them. Sadly, most of the piggies from that particular rescue were in a very poor state. Many died within the first few weeks/months of rescue and due to inbreeding many of the others lived far shorter lives than would have been expected.

New rescues do pop up from time to time and if they can meet our criteria in relation to accommodation, home checking, vet checking, and rehoming we are happy to add them to our list and recommend them.

 

[EffOneGPs]

Got thinking when I passed this post again- what are the warning signs a rescue may be a front for a breeder?
Obvious signs would be a reluctance from the rescue to allow you sight of the cages or diet or even the guinea pigs themselves prior to adoption but are there any other signs that would set alarm bells ringing?

 

[Wiebke]

Got thinking when I passed this post again- what are the warning signs a rescue may be a front for a breeder?
Obvious signs would be a reluctance from the rescue to allow you sight of the cages or diet or even the guinea pigs themselves prior to adoption but are there any other signs that would set alarm bells ringing?

Hi!

Please read the coloured link in my first post. It has a chapter that helps you to spot the more obvious bad places.
Sometimes, it can take some digging around when some more subtle things have your alarm bells ringing. As stated, rescues come in all kinds of shades.

Here is the link again: Rescues, Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs