The following policies help us to make sure that every animal finds the perfect home where they can live a happy, healthy life. Our re-homing process aims to make sure pets and owners are well matched.

• The majority of the animals in our care will have been rescued by animal control officers. Strays are signed over by the local authority concerned. For stray animals, we keep them for at least seven days in order to give their owners a good chance to reclaim them. APES will not import animals from other countries for re-homing in England and Wales.
• Animals will have received a clinical examination by a trained member of staff from the animal care department, prior to their adoption.
• No animals may be re-homed without proof of identification that they are over 18 years old.
• No animal may be re-homed without reasonable steps to make sure they will have a good quality of life. Once we’ve found the perfect match for an animal in our care, then a home visit will be carried out by one of our trained volunteers to make sure potential adopters have really thought about the implications of owning a pet.
• Potential owners need to chose an animal in person. No animal should be re-homed over the internet, or by mail-order or telephone. No animal is ever sold at a market or given as a prize.
• For those potential adopters who live in rented or tied accommodation, you will need permission from the landlord to keep an animal.
• No animal may be re-homed if doing so would be illegal or create undue risks to humans or other animals. We don’t re-home animals to adopters who are likely to use them to hunt live animals.
• We will always provide copies of the veterinary and behavioral history of the animal while they have been in our care and provide post-adoption support to help the animal settle into their new home.
• No Invert Sanctum animal should be kept in a school – APES strongly discourages the keeping of animals in schools. Also, no animal may be adopted out for use in experimentation that requires a Home Office license.
• No APES animal may be re-homed to countries lacking adequate animal welfare legislation or requiring journeys that compromise their welfare.