# How do I know a rescue is really a rescue?



## kelly-joy (Oct 14, 2008)

*Sadly we have been hearing from a lot of people re homing animals that they have re homed animals from what they think is a rescue but after speaking to us it is clear they have not. 
We have been hearing that people have not been home checked or signed a Homing agreement etc and have handed over £100s of pounds,
Sadly it looks like they have been scammed into thinking they are rescuing from a rescue but have actually brought their pets from a back street breeder no doubt 

First of all I want to point out that Animal Lifeline UK holds no responsibility for the rescues we work with.

I should also point out that there is no government body to regulate rescues and so sadly anyone can call themselves a rescue  
Registered charities do have to abide by strict rules however rescues that aren't registered don't and can run their rescue however they like. 
Do not dismiss rescues that aren't registered though as many are just as good as the registered ones they may however not have £5000s or more yearly and therefore unable to register themselves.

So what should you be looking at to make sure you are going to a rescue and what should rescues be doing.

1 Home checks
Rescues should Home check all possible homes a good rescue will do this to make sure the animals they have in their care goes to the right home for them

2.Fully Vaccinate 
They should fully vaccinate their animals before they leave the rescue it is very dangerous for both your new animal and existing animals to bring an un vaccinated animal into your home.

3.Neuter
They should neuter animals before they leave the rescue and if they don't neuter the animal before they leave they should make you sign a contract to say that you agree to neuter that animal and follow that up to make sure you do.

4.Signing of Homing agreement 
They should make you sign a homing agreement one of the things that this will say is that you will bring the animal back to the rescue if you can no longer keep it for whatever reason in the future.

5, Adoption fees 
Although adoption fees vary from rescue to rescue you should have alarm bells ringing if they ask for more than £250 per animal, I would also be wary of rescues that have different adoption fee amounts for different breeds of animals.

So what is the best way to complain about a rescue that isn't registered? 
Well first of always inform the RSPCA, although they may not do anything your call will be logged and if they get enough complaints they will have to investigate, Call your local trading standards they can help if you have paid for something you didn't get i.e you paid the adoption fee for a healthy animal that is sick when you get it.Contact the local county council and you can also contact environmental health if you live near the rescue and it is either coursing noise or smell pollution.

Rescuing animals is a very rewarding experience however do take the time to make sure you are going to a rescue and that you don't end up another victim of this horrible scam and end up buying from a back street breeder *


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## Gratch (Aug 22, 2010)

Good (but depressing) post. Maybe put one in cat chat to make sure it gets read by more? It's sad to think they they can sink so low


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## kelly-joy (Oct 14, 2008)

ok I will post it there too


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