ADCH Standards

ADCH · Association of Dogs and Cats Homes

The membership standard for dog and cat rescues across the UK and Ireland, checked by assessment before a charity can join.

01 What It Is

The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes, founded in 1985, is the umbrella body for rescue and rehoming organisations across the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, with more than 160 member charities. Its Minimum Welfare and Operational Standards define what a responsibly run rescue must do, and they form the basis of membership.

02 What It Covers

The standards govern kennelling and housing, veterinary care, the rehoming process, record-keeping and the day-to-day operation of a rescue. They set a baseline suited to organisations of very different sizes, from large charities to small foster-based rescues, and the association also uses them to inform its responses to government consultations on animal welfare.

03 How It Is Checked

Membership is not automatic. Trained volunteer assessors evaluate an organisation against the Minimum Welfare and Operational Standards, and prospective members are checked before they are admitted. Because the standards are owned and applied by the association rather than a single charity, ADCH membership functions as a recognised, peer-set mark of a responsibly run rescue.

04 Why It Matters

Anyone can call themselves a rescue, and a dog handed to a poorly run one can end up worse off than before. ADCH membership, backed by the major animal charities, gives an adopter or a donor a way to tell an assessed, accountable rescue from an unregulated one, in a sector that has no statutory licensing of its own.

Primary sources

About ADCHadch.org.uk