Care England and RSPCA Launch Guidance on Pets in Care Homes

Care England has partnered with the RSPCA to produce comprehensive guidance on pets and companion animals in residential care settings, addressing a significant gap in official direction from government and regulatory bodies.

The guidance, launched this month, provides care providers across the country with a framework for enabling meaningful animal interaction in care homes while maintaining robust infection prevention and control measures and upholding high standards of animal welfare.

The document covers residential care homes and focuses on three key objectives: ensuring infection prevention and control measures are robust and proportionate, upholding high standards of animal welfare, and promoting resident wellbeing, choice and quality of life.

In a statement accompanying the guidance, the RSPCA emphasised the importance of compassion in all aspects of care. “At the RSPCA, we believe that compassion should shape every aspect of our lives – not just in how we treat each other, but in how we treat all animals,” the charity said. “We are grateful to Care England for their leadership on this issue and to the many individuals who have contributed their expertise.”

The guidance addresses several categories of animals, including companion animals, community animals, exotic and wild animals, and family pets visiting care settings. It also outlines considerations for unsuitable community-owned animals and provides detailed infection prevention and control protocols.

Staff recruitment and training features prominently in the framework, with care providers required to conduct thorough risk assessments. Providers remain responsible for maintaining high standards of welfare for both animals and those who reside in, work at or visit care services, in line with the ethos of risk-enabled person-centred care.

Both organisations acknowledge that the guidance may not achieve universal agreement on all points. However, they emphasise that in the absence of official government direction for the care sector, the framework offers practical support for care leaders making decisions about animal welfare and the positive impacts animals provide to residents.

The guidance reflects the “one health, one welfare” principle, which recognises the interconnection between human, animal and environmental health and wellbeing.

Care providers wishing to access the full guidance can contact view the report here