About us
The Beagle Welfare Scheme was established in 1979 in order to give help and advice on Beagles and where necessary to ‘re-home’ Beagles whose owners are unable to do so. The main aims of Beagle Welfare are:
- The prevention of maltreatment and cruelty to Beagles and to encourage responsible ownership of Beagles throughout Great Britain.
- To re-home Beagles whose owners are unable to do so.
- To provide advice and guidance to Beagle owners.
- To encourage responsible breeding practices in the Breeding of Beagles throughout Great Britain.
Donations to help finance the work of Beagle Welfare are expected when a hound is given up or adopted. However, we would never turn away a Beagle in need just because the owner could not contribute towards the kenneling costs. Our fund-raising efforts make up any short-fall in meeting the costs of any individual case.
As the years have passed, the number of hounds dealt with each year has reached a plateau. More and more of our work in the last few years has been educational. We hope to prevent rescue problems by making prospective owners fully aware of their responsibilities as dog owners, and the particular needs of Beagles as pets. We would rather put someone off having a Beagle in the first place than have to pick up the pieces a year or two later. On the other hand, potentially good homes can be encouraged to learn more about the breed so that they can enjoy life with their Beagle to the full.
A few of our Activities..
To this end, our booklet, Beagles as Pets was produced several years ago and has been widely distributed to interested parties (and copied by Beagle Associations abroad!). We co-operate with the other Beagle breed clubs to have a presence at the ‘Discover Dogs’ exhibitions at Crufts and Earls Court, winning the award for Best Breed Stand at the first Earls Court event.
The Beagle Welfare stand has attended many dog shows and events aimed at the ‘general public’, such as the Town & Country Festival at Stoneleigh, bringing sensible information about Beagles to as many people as possible. The stand has won a number of awards - notably Best Welfare Stand at the Hound Club of East Anglia many times, Best Breed Stand at the Hound Show for several years running and most recently Best Hound Stand at Crufts 2009. In every case the judge has remarked on the quality of the breed information which we have given.