Shelters and sanctuaries

Policy:  PAC accepts that most are well run and that those who run them are well meaning.  However there are instances where running a sanctuary has developed into hoarding with adverse consequences on the animals’ welfare.  PAC believes that sanctuaries should be regulated to ensure welfare is not compromised.

Background:  PAC agrees with the definition of a “sanctuary” proposed by the Companion Animal Welfare Council but prefers the term “shelter”.  CAWC defined them as a place which:

• receives companion animals which for whatever reason have become displaced from their usual place of keeping; and
• provides for their immediate needs; and
• carries out one or more of the following in relation to such animals:
• the provision of long-term or lifetime care;
• re-homing;
• arranging euthanasia of those animals whose needs cannot otherwise be adequately met.

Sanctuaries vary in size, the species covered, and the competence of those running them.  There have been a number of high profile cases where those running them have been overwhelmed by numbers and welfare has suffered as a result.  However without some form of regulation it is not known how many establishments even exist and the numbers of animals with which they deal.  PAC does not wish to impose significant additional costs on sanctuaries but believes regulation can be effected without doing so.