We welcome anyone with an interest in furthering best practices in animal care and sanctuary/rescue center operations. Organizations wishing to participate in GFAS Peer to Peer are welcome to have multiple team members register to participate. Those engaged in care of animals in sanctuaries and other captive settings are expected to agree with the terms set out below.
If you have questions about any of the following terms, or are unable to authorize that you meet these terms but would like to provide an explanation, please email .
Transfer/Placement Practices and Adoptions – Unless otherwise required by authorities, animals are only transferred to individuals, sanctuaries, or other facilities that have appropriate expertise and resources to care for them. For those species that may be placed with adopters or fostering arrangements (such as equines), appropriate screening and documentation is completed at or before the time of transfer.
Euthanasia – Humane euthanasia of an animal is an acceptable final option when all other options to relieve pain and suffering have been assessed, and is not used as a management tool to create space for more animals.
Non-Breeding – No intentional animal breeding occurs, and sound practices are in place to prevent propagation (exception for rehabilitation and release centers engaged in a bona fide breeding-for-release-program)
Acquisition Policies No commercial trade in sanctuary/ rescue center animals occurs (including, but not limited to, the purchase or sale of animals, animal parts, by-products, or offspring).
Contact Practices – No direct contact between the public and wildlife occurs, including being allowed to hold, carry, feed, walk with, or hand food or other items to animals (exceptions may be made for trained volunteers caring for young orphaned wildlife).
Marketing Practices – Published images (including photos and videos) do not suggest that wild animals are tractable, i.e. that they make suitable pets. This includes photos in which staff or others are shown holding or petting wildlife.
Research Practices – Research studies involving sanctuary/rescue animals are limited to that are strictly observational, do not negatively impact individual animal welfare, and do not interfere with the normal daily activities of individual animals.
Please review our Peer to Peer policies and guidelines here.
After we have reviewed your submission, if you are approved, you will receive an email with a username and password along with log in instructions. This email may go to your spam folder, so you will want to make sure to watch for that.