Registration Of Rescues!

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furryfriends (TEAS)

furryfriends (TEAS)

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Here is a question for you all. Should rescues and sanctuaries have to be registered, and inspected regularly without notice? People are very quick to criticise pet stores but anyone can set up a 'rescue' and there is no registration process or standards to be met.

I believe that rescues and sanctuaries should be registered and that certain standards must be met, and that drop in inspections should be undertaken. I think they should all be required to register with the inland revenue as a charity and that accounts should be available for inspection at any time. Running a 'rescue' can be so open to abuse, whereby someone is picking up piggies from free-ads etc and then selling them on, at a profit, without any veterinary checks, but not declaring the income. This in my opinion is running a business and not a rescue.

Your thoughts please?
 
I was actually surprised that there wasn't already a "monitoring" system in place.
 
Squidgypigs said:
I was actually surprised that there wasn't already a "monitoring" system in place.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately there isn't and I really think there should be. I run TEAS and I would welcome anyone calling in to inspect and check paperwork, accounts etc. I also have insurance for TEAS but not sure all 'rescues' have insurance to cover people coming onto their premises, volunteers, insurance cover for events away from the rescue/sanctuary.
 
I agree. I think it is too easy to be called a 'rescue' when really they are anything but! I don't really know much about the set up of charities though, do normal charities get inspected and have their accounts checked? And does it cost to register to be a charity? Would this financially impact rescues?

I know this is a bit pie in the sky, but I was thinking the other day about why there isn't some sort of accreditation for rescues. The only rescues that are recommended here on the forum are vetted and are genuinely good rescues, maybe the forum could extend that to be 'Guinea Pig Forum Accredited' or something. I was thinking about it because I was thinking about how breeders get accredited by 'clubs' and 'councils' that regard themselves as official, but what exactly makes them official? Couldn't we set up a 'Guinea Pig Welfare Council' or something or other and then accredit rescues ourselves? The only thing would be making it well known. I've waffled a bit, sorry!

When you looked after Six and Athy for us, both my partner and I were really disturbed by what you said about that 'rescue' where the owner found herself in financial difficulty and started to breed the guinea pigs to sell and then had far too many to look after. I think anything that can help prevent something like that happening is a positive.
 
It doesn't cost anything to register with the Inland Revenue, and once you have a turnover of £5000 per year you should register with the Charity Commission (again no charge). Potentially the Inland Revenue could ask to see our accounts at any time. By registering with the Inland Revenue you are able to claim gift aid on donations too. Why would anyone not do this, as it means you can claim an extra 25% on any donations made by a UK tax payer?
 
Absolutely agree. Of late there seems to have been a spate of missexed/pregnant/ill pigs coming out of 'rescues' not just on this forum but on other forums, Instagram etc. It must make for uncomfortably reading for the likes of yourself running legitimate operations.
 
Sounds like it is a total no brainer for all rescues to register as charities then!
 
I am fully for registration and a monitoring/licensing system. It is always rather awkward having to explain that being pro-rescue doesn't necessarily mean any "rescues" available and why our rescue locator is so vital.
 
Completely agree and would wish this is something the government would do for all animal rescues, places like rescues should be registered to make sure they have excellent facilities and levels of care. I like the idea of inspections, this would hopefully reduce the number of bad rescues out there and as you say those that get free-ads and then sell or heaven forbid backyard breed :(
 
I agree, there should be more done. I took one pig through a rescue on guinea pig rehome to find that she was bred in rescue. The intentions behind the breeding were completely good intentions but it didn't work out that way and I would rather not see that happening. I'm not 100% sure on the no notice drop in checks because being volunteer run it could be extremely difficult for a rescue to manage such an event (especially if things are going on - piggy births, illnesses and vet visits, bonding sessions, etc).
 
I completely agree too.
At first when I joined the forum and heard about rescues (because there are none in here) I also thought that they were regulated in certain way and thought about them as something positive where people in charge would really care about the piggies they had there, but after reading some stories in here and seeing that the staff in here always points out the rescue locator I realized that it wasn't the case at all. And the fact that anyone can open a rescue (which I also didn't know) without any type of permission is quite scary.

I always say that as time passes by, I'm more and more secure about the need of some kind of exam to prove that people really can take care of animals (and children), which is quite extreme, I know, but hearing the brutalities that happen all the time around the world... is just something that comes to my mind again and again. So it really doesn't make any sense in my mind that a place where is supposed to really care about animals can do anything they want without any kind of supervision, which in the end, implies that in many cases the welfare of animals is put the last...
 
If you are registered as a charity (which if you have a turnover of over £5000 is actually a legal requirement if you are advertising yourself as a charity as opposed to a business) your documents and accounts become a public record for anyone to examine from the charities page. When I checked as part of the process for TEAS I was shocked to find less than 10 rescues with Cavy or Guinea Pig as part of their description.
 
Definitely agree.

I have visited (and adopted from) at least one rescue I would choose not to use again which might have benefitted from regulation and inspection and I have heard of some pretty awful ones which really need shutting down, not to mention the ones who breed from animals surrendered... @Wiebke is absolutely right, pro-rescue doesn't mean pro-any old rescue!

Charity status is difficult as I would think that some are small enough to be below the threshold for registering that way and while great that people can check your finances are transparent it doesn't give any indication of your animal welfare.

It would be great if the government could introduce something, or local councils at the very least but sadly persuading the power that be that anything that isn't a cat or a dog needs protecting, rescuing or similar is hard enough without introducing regulation for the rescues that are already trying to deal with the problems. I think that is one thing where the RSPCA struggle (no-body jump on me I know there are some strong opinions about them around...) is that there just isn't the knowledge of the problem or support from Government or the general public to push the agenda for welfare of other animals besides cats and dogs. Rabbits, piggies, reptiles, birds and wildlife all suffer as agencies are spread too thin and don't work together but that is another issue entirely!
 
The last question on the consulatation is quite illuminating.

A number of types of animal business or animal activity do not require a licence, such as commercial breeders of animals other than dogs, livery yards, sanctuaries and pet grooming. Such establishments are still subject to the Animal Welfare Act and have to provide for the welfare of their animals. Local authorities have powers to take action under the Act where poor welfare is evident. Indeed any person can take a prosecution under the Act. Nevertheless there have been suggestions that these establishments should be brought under the welfare licensing system although this would be a considerable new burden on the businesses and charities operating in this area. We are interested in stakeholder views and alternative proposals, such as sector-led UKAS-accredited certification schemes. Such schemes endorsed and policed by the relevant sector can be an effective method of improving standards. Local authorities can be reassured that establishments that have the stamp of approval from an authoritative and respected trade body that undertakes its own inspections and has UKAS accreditation are more likely to be meeting welfare standards. Encouraging such sector-led certification could assist with an intelligence-led approach and improve targeting of enforcement activity.

This could have an impact on rescues
 
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