Tiny Paws MCR is a home-based, vegan-run small animal rescue in Sale, South Manchester. We are a registered charity, no. 1186507. Our foundation is built upon a strong commitment to animal rights and promoting the natural behaviors of rodents and rabbits in captivity. Since our establishment in early 2019, we have been dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming these animals and ensuring they receive the care they deserve.

At Tiny Paws MCR, we firmly believe that animals have the right to live their lives free from harm and exploitation. As part of this, we feel strongly that while kept in captivity, rodents and rabbits should be cared for in an way which allows them to live as close to a natural life as possible. We ensure that adopters provide spacious living arrangements that allow for ample movement and exercise, as well as the opportunity to engage in their instinctual behaviours. We are also passionate about providing species-appropriate diets to promote optimal health and well-being. Our small animals are offered foods that reflect their natural dietary preferences.

At Tiny Paws MCR, we advocate for responsible animal care and adoption. We firmly oppose the breeding and selling of rabbits and rodents, as it perpetuates the cycle of exploitation. Our goal is to educate the public about the ethical considerations surrounding small animal care and inspire them to provide enriched environments and natural diets that support the animals’ natural behaviours.

By promoting animal rights and the importance of providing rodents and rabbits the opportunity to perform natural behaviours, we strive to create a compassionate world where small animals are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to advocating for their well-being, raising awareness, and providing lifelong support to adopters.

Our policies

· Our rabbits are neutered and fully vaccinated prior to adoption.
· We ensure that social animals (including rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, chinchillas, mice, gerbils, degus) are bonded with other individuals of their own species, either at the rescue or in their new home.
· Home-checks are carried out and minimum welfare standards must be met (60sq ft for a pair of rabbits, for example).
· Our adopters are offered life-time support and animals adopted from us must be returned to our care if circumstances change.
· We have a no-kill policy – healthy animals will not be euthanised.
· We do not receive money from pet retailers and rely entirely on public donations.
· We are against the breeding and selling of rabbits and rodents.

We are signed up to Babba Campaign’s Ethical Rescue Standard

The Humans!

The rescue is run by myself (Suzi) with assistance from my partner (Ben) from our home in Sale, South Manchester. I was encouraged by the support of trustee Niccy to start up the rescue in early 2019. I hold a BSc (Hons) in Zoology from the University of Liverpool, and a MSc in Conservation Biology with Ornithology from Manchester Metropolitan University.
I am particularly passionate about ensuring rodents and rabbits in captivity are cared for in a way that meets their need to carry out natural behaviours, and hope the rescue will help to educate the public on improving the welfare of their small animals.

Ben is our resident rat man and gets to do all the fun jobs such as holding animals while I medicate them, trim their nails, and other things they all end up disliking me for! He is basically the fun dad. He also holds a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Biology and is a keen amateur botanist – this comes in really handy when we go foraging for wild plants for the animals to eat!

Niccy is our fundraising expert, who also has a strong background in animal rights, welfare and behaviour, holding a BSc in Animal Welfare & Management, and has worked in fundraising/campaigns for animal welfare organisations for a number of years.

We are all volunteers (we take no wage from the rescue funds) and run the rescue alongside our full-time day jobs.