Children's Clubs

“We” or “Us” or “Our” or “Professional Handler” or “Staff Member” refers to an employee or representative of Animal House Zoo.

“You” or “Your” or “Participant(s)” refers to the general public in the context of a client or customer of Animal House Zoo or an attendee at one of its events.

All of Our animals are handled on a regular basis and are captive bred, very tame and friendly. However, if Our animals are mistreated or held incorrectly by Participants, You must be aware that they may bite or scratch.

Due to the unpredictable nature of any animal, You may be subject to bites and scratches.

At the beginning of each event We will go through some rules regarding the animals. Then before each animal is taken around to be held, Our Professional Handler will show all Participants how to correctly hold each animal. Please note Participants will only be allowed to hold the animals if they have listened carefully to the instructions on how to handle them to ensure a safe and happy experience for both Our animals and Participants.

Animals will be returned to their travel carriers by Us if they are mistreated or held incorrectly by You or start to show signs of stress.

Animals will be displayed in a specific order at Our behest for health and safety reasons.

  Upon enquiry We will send You a list of all animals that are available at that time. Available animals could vary slightly at the time of any booked event due to circumstances beyond Our control. However, We do update Our list regularly.

If there are any animals on the list that You do not wish to be in attendance then You must let Us know at least 7 days prior to Your event.

If an animal that was on the list is unwell on the day of Your event then for animal health and welfare reasons the said animal will not be able to attend Your event.

We have no control over when the animals choose to defecate or urinate. In case of an accident We carry baby wipes, kitchen towels, hand sanitizer, and poo bags with Us at every event.

It is forbidden for You to feed any of Our animals with Your own food.

No bouncy castles or other inflatables will be allowed nearby (within 40 meters).

Any music volume will need to be kept to a minimum, with no music at all being the ideal scenario for the animals. If music is to be played, then We must not be positioned near to any speakers.

All efforts must be made to ensure that there are no balloons in reach of Participants. Decorative balloons may be acceptable at Our discretion but none should be in reach of children in case they are burst which would alarm and distress the animals.

If there are other activities keeping children entertained for example toys/games or similar, then such activities must not be brought near the animals at any time.

Your chosen venue should be indoors unless You have stated to Us that You requested outdoors. The venue will only be permissible outdoors if the weather is suitable and the animals can be heated correctly.

To be heated correctly We will require You to provide either electric for heat mats to be plugged in or boiling water to refill hot water bottles.

If You hire a venue it is Your responsibility to make sure that the venue will allow animals on the premises. If We arrive and are denied access to the venue, You will still be responsible for the full cost of the booking.

Vehicle parking will be required on any access road or driveway as near as possible to the venue so that We can safely unload Our animals. For events where a driveway or access road is not available We will need to be parked as close to the doors of the venue as possible. At galas, fun days and similar outdoor events Our vehicle(s) must be able to park adjacent to Our gazebo.

Parking for Our vehicles(s) will be available to Us free of charge for the full duration of Our time spent in attendance at Your event. Should parking at Your event be subject to charges, then You will be responsible for any such charges in full.

If there is no available parking suitably near Your venue then We may be unable to carry out Your booking. In this instance You will still be responsible for the full cost of the booking. Therefore We would strongly advise that there be suitable parking made available, in advance, for Our vehicles(s) in order that We can safely unload Our animals very near to Your venue.

If We are late starting the event due to parking issues We may still have to finish the event at the end of Your allocated time slot, as there may be other bookings for that day. If this scenario occurs then You will still be responsible for the full cost of the booking.

(Parties)

All Participants must be over 3 years old.

Any child 3 years old or younger must have an adult over the age of 18 accompanying them at ALL times.

There must be 1 responsible adult present for the duration of the party for every 6 children.

Adults must control the children and keep them quiet and seated. If the children become too loud, unruly and not seated We will return the animals to their travel carriers until the children are back in their seats and quiet. Please understand that this is for the safety of both Our animals and the children.

(Schools)

A teacher MUST be present at all times to control the class and keep the children seated and quiet.

(All participants)

Participants MUST NOT tease or torment other Participants about animals that they may be afraid of.

All Participants MUST wash their hands BEFORE and AFTER handling the animals. We will provide hand sanitizer gel for during the event but after the event has finished it is important that everyone wash their hands with warm soapy water.

We request that if there is to be food available at the event that You wait until after the animals have been shown and are back in their travel carriers until the food is brought out.

Participants MUST NOT eat during the event. If someone does eat it is very important they wash their hands before handling any more animals. If Your hands smell of food the animals might want a nibble so please keep Your hands clean.

All Participants MUST remain seated unless one of Our Professional Handlers asks You to stand for certain animals.

Whilst holding any animal You MUST stay with Our Professional Handler and NOT walk away.

When the animals are in their travel carriers We ask that nobody taps on the travel carriers or pokes their fingers through the gaps.

If someone does put any part of their body next to or inside the travel carriers without permission We cannot be held responsible for any injuries incurred.

Please do not pick up any travel carriers unless You have asked and been granted permission by one of Our Professional Handlers to do so.

Participants must take it in turn one at a time to pet or hold each animal. If everyone did attempt to interact with an animal at the same time this could cause stress and discomfort to the animal.

All Participants will have the opportunity to pet or hold each animal unless a member of Our staff states otherwise. Should the animals begin to display signs of stress they will be returned to their travel carriers. Please understand that this is for the animal’s welfare and the safety of the Participants.

We reserve the right to end any encounter at any time if We witness behaviour from Participants that could put a staff member or any animal in danger. Any action that affects the welfare of Our animals will not be tolerated. Please note that if this happens then You will still be responsible for the full cost of the booking.

When a booking is made You are paying for the allocated time slot and not the amount of time.

For parties and other smaller events We will arrive approximately 15 minutes prior to the event starting in order to unload the animals into the venue.

For schools or other larger events that require a display setting up We will arrive at least 40 minutes prior to the event starting.

Please ensure that all the Participants are ready to start at the beginning of the time slot.

If We do have to start late due to late arrivers We cannot overrun the session past the allocated time slot.

In order that We can start on time We request that all Participants have washed their hands before We begin. If Participants have not washed their hands they will have to do so at the beginning of the session, therefore resulting in less time to interact with the animals.

In the unlikely event that We are late arriving to Your event We will make sure that You get the full amount of interaction time with the animals that You booked for.

We prefer payments to be sent via bank transfer (Bacs).

A non-refundable deposit of 30% will be required to secure Your booking with the outstanding payment due 5 days before the event.

If You are unable to make a bank transfer please contact Us so that We can discuss other payment options.

We understand that a cheque is often the easiest form of payment for certain events and We will gladly accommodate this. We do require however that You arrange for the cheque to have cleared in time for Your event.

If on the day of Your event We have not received the full amount agreed then We reserve the right not to attend Your event.

If it has been agreed with Us that You can pay cash on the day of the event for the outstanding balance then We MUST receive payment before We start the event.

If We do not receive payment We reserve the right to leave without starting the event. Or, at Our discretion, We may wait until payment is received and then carry on with Your event. Please note that if We have to wait for payment before We begin then We will finish at the arranged time and not overrun. To avoid missing out on animal encounter time please make sure payment is prearranged.

Receipts can be provided upon request.

Once an event is booked any cancellation will only be effective when We have received a written cancellation request by email to hello@animalhoUsezoo.co.uk by the person who paid the deposit.

To confirm that the email has been received and Your booking has been cancelled, We will send You a receipt by email.

If You do not receive a receipt by email then contact Us by telephone on 07491 774424 in order for Us to confirm cancellation.

All deposits are non-refundable.

If We have to cancel an event due to unforeseen circumstances then We will attempt to re-arrange the booking to a mutually convenient alternative date.

If a mutually convenient alternative date cannot be agreed upon then We will offer a full refund.

We cannot be held responsible for the delay of arrival or cancellation of encounter for the force majeure events listed. Force majeure events include: Acts of God (including fire, flood, earthquake, storm, hurricane or other natural disaster), traffic accidents, threats and/or acts of terrorism, crime, war, civil war, riot, strike, interruption or failure of electricity or telephone service, or ill health of person or animals.

No party is entitled to terminate this agreement under clause 8 (Cancellations and Refunds) in a force majeure event.

In the case that a force majeure event occurs and the encounter has to be cancelled by either party then the encounter will be re-arranged for another date.

If the force majeure event occurs for longer than 28 days after the date of encounter then a full refund will be given.

If We are delayed because of a force majeure event then We will try to stay for the full amount of time originally booked. Unfortunately this is not always possible as We may have other bookings that day to attend.

If either party uses a force majeure as an excuse for the encounter to be cancelled then that party must prove that the event occurred and that they took reasonable steps to minimize delay or damages caused by foreseeable events.

If a party is cancelling an encounter due to an event listed in clause 9.1 then that party must notify the other party at the first opportunity.