Giving up your small pet or domestic fowl
Woodgreen takes in hundreds of rabbits, small pets, chickens, ducks and geese each year and finds them new, loving owners.
Giving up any pet can be a difficult, emotional process. If you’re thinking about giving up a pet, it is best to start the process early, and prevent things from getting worse.
We’re one of the few places in the UK where you can give up a small pet: be it a hamster, gerbil, mouse, rat, chinchilla, degu, rabbit or ferret. We rehome chickens, geese and ducks too.
Woodgreen is here to help. Speak to our pet support experts, who can discuss matters with you confidentially and provide unbiased advice and support, to help you make the right decision for you and your pet’s wellbeing.
Handing your small pet into our care: how it works
Woodgreen has a five stage process for rehoming pets. If they have behavioural issues book a free appointment with our Behaviour & Training Specialist Team.
If you’re thinking about giving up a small animal or domestic fowl, it is best if you start the process early and prevent things from getting worse.
To begin, complete the form below, and we will aim to reply within 48 hours about next steps.
Sometimes it’s easier to talk things through with our pet support team. Our experts will discuss matters with you confidentially and provide unbiased advice and support, to help you make the right decision for your and your pet’s wellbeing.
Call them on 0300 303 9333, 8am – 4pm, 7 days a week. If they can’t answer, leave a message and they’ll call you back within 48 hours.
A member of our pet support team may call you to gather more information about you and your pet. For example photographs and copies of any veterinary records.
We’ll discuss whether we can provide your pet with a new home, or provide support to keep your pet in your home to see if the situation improves, such as free behavioural advice, or financial aid.
We will then decide the best course of action for you and your pet.
Based on our initial assessment, we will decide on one of the following actions:
- Your pet will come into our care, where they will stay in our excellent facilities supported by our dedicated, experienced staff, or with a foster volunteer until they find a new home
- Support with keeping your pet in your home whilst we find them a great new home. This includes expert help with any pet-related issues you may be experiencing
- A space on our waiting list if our care services are full
In some circumstances, we may not be able to find your small a new home; our team will explain the reasons why and what to do next.
On the day of your appointment you will need to bring them to us in Godmanchester at the agreed time and date, or you could arrange to have them collected.
If your pet has favourite belongings, bring these with you as we will keep them to help your pet settle. After the appointment, your pet with remain with us until we find them a new home.
Your rehoming appointment will last half an hour. Our team will ask for more detailed information about your pet, to make sure we provide the right support whilst they are with us and find them the best new home.
Whilst in our care, our experts will then assess the behaviour and medical needs of your pet in depth, to help us match them with the right new owner.
You can email us if you’d like updates on your pet whilst in our care.
Once we place your pet in their new home, you’ll understand that we are unable to share information about your former pet’s new owners or whereabouts.
Application form
- You can provide details for up to five small pets or domestic fowl
- To provide a quicker decision, we ask applicants to provide comprehensive, honest and accurate information
- You will be asked to share their medical history, behaviour, and photos
- It takes around 10-15 minutes to complete an application for each pet
- Learn about our animal intake policy