A. Responsibility Toward Animals
1. To combine forces in cooperative efforts to rescue and place animals in the best possible environment
    for the individual animal.
2. To strive to achieve and maintain high standards of animal care through continuing education and an understanding
    of the sanctuary field and its challenges.
3. To acknowledge limitations when appropriate and enlist the assistance of veterinarians, The Association of Sanctuaries
    (TAOS), or other supporting organizations and professionals as needed.
4. To strive to keep animals in as natural, spacious, and enriched a setting as possible and that will exceed minimum
    conceptions of their needs.
5. Optimal animal care shall come before personal gain, and the needs of the animals before one’s own emotional needs.
6. To strive to provide professional and humane care through all phases of an animal’s life and to provide for the dignity
    of each animal.
7. In providing for the well-being of individual animals, to consider its impact on the sanctuaries’ larger
    community of animals.
8. To provide for both individual and social needs of animals in enclosure construction, animal placement, and
    care practices.
9. To be aware of normal behavioral characteristics of all species held and to take appropriate steps to correct problems
    leading to abnormal behavior.
10. To recognize when an animal’s quality of life and prognosis are such as to indicate euthanasia as the potentially
    preferred option for the good of the animal.
11. Facilities and animal care practices shall be maintained in accord with TAOS guidelines.

B. Organizational Responsibilities
1. To conduct fundraising with honesty and integrity and to avoid sensationalistic and manipulative funding appeals.
2. Facilities shall be maintained in good condition and in line with standard health and safety practices.
3. To conduct all business and related activities in a professional manner, with honesty, integrity, compassion,
    and commitment, realizing that an individual’s behavior reflects on the sanctuary field as a whole.
4. To train, support, and supervise employees in doing their jobs well and provide fair compensation.
5. Maintain financial stability, keep sound records, and follow standard accounting practices.
6. Abide by local, state, and federal regulations.
7. To provide support, guidance, and oversight for the sanctuary.
8. To encourage community support and involvement through volunteer recruitment and training and public education
    about sanctuaries and the circumstances that lead to animals’ placement there.

C. Responsibilities to Sanctuary Field & Other Social Change Agents
1. To treat other organizations with appropriate respect and share skills and knowledge that benefit animals.
2. To avoid personalization and gossip in response to differences of opinion or philosophy.
3. In public or private communications to give due recognition to the contributions made by others.
4. To ensure that information disseminated about others is factual and when misrepresentations are mistakenly made
    to take necessary steps to fully rectify the error.
5. If disputes arise between members and others, or if a member believes that another member has failed to adhere
    to this Code, every effort shall be made to resolve conflicts in a spirit of goodwill and concern for the welfare
    of animals. Unresolved conflicts shall be brought to a neutral facilitator for support and resolution.

D. Responsibilities to Society
1. To promote awareness, empathy, and active concern for all life through education and advocacy insofar as sanctuary
    resources permit.
2. To collaborate with others in efforts to alter attitudes and cultural practices that will improve conditions for nature,
    animals, and vulnerable human beings.
3. To work actively to promote a compassionate ethic in terms that are humble, sensitive, and cognizant
    of the diversity of views and ways of other people.