Planning for New Animal Acquisitions

Updated 1,659 Days AgoPublic

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An animal is a great responsibility and requires significant commitment for optimal health and happiness when kept by humans. As animal lives are very important, this premeditation is important for ensuring their health and wellbeing. It's also important to consider the impact on the current and future members of the Sanctuary.

Lifelong plans

When an animal comes to Firestone Sanctuary, there must be a plan for the duration of its stay to meet its needs in a sustainable and ethical manner.

If the animal is to live at Firestone Sanctuary indefinitely, a lifelong plan should be made to consider all of its needs, and approved by members, before the animal is acquired.
The plan should involve who is taking responsibility for the animal, including

• any maintenance chores
• any food and nutrition costs
• any vet bills or other costs

Animals acquisitions must come with a lifelong plan and must be approved with unanimous vote at a member's meeting.
Without this, an animal is considered a rescue and may need to be rehomed or released.

Planning for

• all weather events
• health, vet checks and transport needs
• possibilities of the animal reproducing
• predators
• noise concerns (e.g. roosters)
• space concerns and location
• disease concerns (e.g. bats)

If the animal is going to be reproducing, plans for the limitation of that reproduction (desexing or otherwise) should be made to limit the population ethically.

Further considerations

• not creating demand for pet shop animals or impulse buys
• preferring native species over introduced species

As part of the lifelong plan for an animal, it involves the best care and reaching its happiest natural lifespan, not ending the life of the animal prematurely for meat.
In the interests of sustainability and reuse, it may be possible to reuse components of an animal for leather after its natural death, but if an animal dies naturally then it is unlikely that it will be suitable for meat. Therefore, we do not raise animals for meat.

We should consider the advantage that we humans bring to the stewardship of the life of an animal, from its perspective. We do not raise animals primarily for human use or exploitation, but cooperation where we both mutually advantage.

Based on this, we should ask why we should not get an animal, especially from its perspective. If we can address all the reasons against in a satisfactory manner, then it is appropriate to consider the reasons for.

Exit plans should also be considered:

• animals are owned by those responsible: in the event of the responsible member leaving, the animal should either be transferred to another member or taken with the person who is leaving