Full Membership is available to registered charities with an appropriate and relevant status and objectives in their country of origin in the UK or Ireland. All Full Members undertake rescue and / or rehoming in the UK and / or Ireland and may, in addition, import. Full Members have the right to vote.

They must meet the following criteria:

– Members must be registered charities operating in the UK and/or Republic of Ireland and must be directly involved in the rescue and/or rehoming of dogs and/or cats

– Members must comply with the Minimum Welfare and Operational Standards and relevant legislation, operate on a non-commercial basis, and be aligned with ADCH values.  Be ready for an external assessment by ADCH to confirm compliance before admittance to the Association.

– Any animals imported by Members must:

* Constitute no more than 25% of the organisation’s annual animal intake, this is because ADCH membership is conditional on an assessment against our Minimum Welfare and Operational Standards, and we are logistically not able to carry out assessments of operations that begin overseas;

* be imported legally and in line with ADCH’s importation standards and;

* not be imported under any arrangements that fall outside these requirements.

– Sympathetic to and compatible with the values of ADCH.

– Declare that they are not aware of any Trustees or Senior Staff Members with any previous convictions for animal welfare offences.

Before applying for Membership please ensure that you have:

– Checked your eligibility, as above.

– Checked when ADCH is next open for new membership applications; we open four times per year for three weeks at a time. You can sign up for updates on this page.

– Read the Minimum Welfare Operational Standards. It is important that you understand these in the light of your work and that you consider whether your rescue is complaint with each standard. As part of your application you will be asked who in your organisation has evaluated your rescue against the Minimum Standards. This exercise may take an hour or two by someone with detailed knowledge of your operations. You will be asked to state the names of your people who have undertaken this exercise. It is not uncommon for applicants to be uncertain about aspects of this and they should keep a record of areas of possible non-compliance to discuss as part of your assessment.

– Gathered copies of the following supporting information:
– A copy of the organisation’s constitution
– Two years of accounts. Where accounts are not available (i.e. for newly formed organisations), recent bank statements for all bank accounts should be submitted.
– Contact details of two existing Members who can endorse your application.  If you are unable to find two suitable ADCH Members, please provide details of two referees who can vouch for your operational welfare standards (i.e. veterinary practice or local authority).  For veterinary practices, the person giving the reference must be a qualified veterinary surgeon.  Please seek permission from your referee before sharing their contact details with us.

You can find a list of all the possible questions that may be asked during your application below, which may help you gather your figures and information ready to apply.

 

 

Please note that a £100 non-refundable application fee applies for membership applications (and re-applications from previous members and applicants).

We are open for Full Membership applications at 4 periods in the year. You’ll find upcoming dates on the left hand side of this page. When we are open for membership applications, you’ll find the form on this page. You’ll then receive an  invoice for your application fee of £100 (non-refundable), which supports the processing of your application and the arrangement of the assessment.

Want a handy reminder when we are next open for full membership applications? Sign up below for alerts!

We will review your application, and if initial approval is granted by the Trustee Board:

One or two ADCH Assessors will be assigned to carry out an assessment against the Minimum Welfare and Operational Standards. The role profile of our Assessors can be found here.

The ADCH Assessors will contact you to arrange a mutually convenient time and date to carry out the assessment.

We have a Standard Operating Procedure for the processing of new membership applications, you might find this helpful to read to understand more about how the assessment is arranged.

You will receive a copy of the Assessors’ report from their assessment of your organisation. This may include advice or recommended actions.

ADCH’s Standards and Animal Welfare Committee (which is made up of volunteers from our sector) will consider the Assessor’s report and recommendations and make a decision whether to approve your organisation’s membership. You will be advised of the approximate timescale for your assessment report to be considered.

We will advise of the decision made by the Standards and Animal Welfare Committee and provide any feedback. If your application has been approved, we will issue an invoice for the membership fee, which will be issued pro rata for the first year. See more here.

When payment has been received, we will issue your Welcome Pack and Membership Certificate.

If your application has been declined you will be provided with feedback and details of our appeals process.