What is your euthanasia policy?

Our euthanasia policy

At Woodgreen, we give homeless and vulnerable pets the chance of a positive future, who would otherwise have nowhere else to go. We support a wide range of pets, some of whom have complex medical or behavioural needs.
We prioritise a good quality of life for every pet in our care. We work hard to help pets overcome serious medical conditions, severe behavioural problems, or both, to ensure they are able to be happily and safely rehomed. However, sometimes, a decision has to be made about putting them to sleep. Such decisions are never taken lightly or in isolation. Our team of experts continuously assess each pet’s quality of life and, for those with behavioural problems, we assess the risk to other pets and people too.

We take our duty of care to all pets we look after at Woodgreen extremely seriously. We also have a duty of care to our staff, our volunteers, and the public. We will not knowingly put people or other animals at risk by rehoming pets who pose a threat to others’ safety.

We are legally obliged to euthanise dogs who are of a ‘type’ who fall under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.