This is an agreement between the customer and Creature Box.

Creature Box is a small business run by a sole trader and assistant. We are fully Licenced under the Somerset Council to train and present animals. We are fully DBS checked and have valid public liability insurance tailored to the nature of our work. We are trained in Safeguarding and child protection, and have a background working with children and vulnerable individuals. 

We have no fixed location where we conduct business but instead travel to a customer’s requested site. Be that their place of employment, educational institute, care facility, private residence, or community area.

Booking and Payment 

When speaking to you on the telephone, we will go through a list of important information which will lay out- What services are to be provided, the site that the booking will take place at, the date and the duration of the booking. You must inform us of any important details which you think will impact the event. This includes any changes to the event which are made after the initial booking; Ie. Change to the number of attendees.

When booking we will email an overview of the session(s) requested, invoice, safety sheet and our terms of service (this document). The safety sheet should be completed and sent back to us before the date of the booking. 

We can provide a quote based on our price list. The quote is valid for two months. Our price list is based on booking duration, rather than booking content. 

For distances exceeding 30 miles in a single journey, we add an additional £20 to the booking fee to cover fuel costs. The customer will be notified of this on the invoice.

While we prefer digital payment, cash payment on the day is also accepted. For this, we ask for a deposit of a third of the total cost to be sent before the event date.

If payment/ the agreed deposit is not received by the event date, the booking will be cancelled. Please notify us of any issues you are having with payment/ the agreed deposit ahead of time, so we are aware. Late payments are charged an additional 10% late fee. We hold the right to issue legal proceedings to recover unpaid sums.

Your information

We will only store your information at the point of initial contact, for the purpose of contacting you, up to the point that the event has concluded and payment has been processed. Your information will not be stored if you do not wish to book with us. We will never distribute your information to anyone. This is in compliance with GDPR. 

Social media photography

If we are considering taking social media photographs we will request this when booking in with you. If agreed ahead of time, we will check again on the day and gain consent from all parties before a photo is taken. Photographs will not contain any additional people who did not give their consent at the time of the image being taken. Any person in the photo or the centre it was taken in can request a photograph to be removed and deleted at any time. 

Our obligations

• We will follow the guidelines of our licence to train and present animals, and the animal welfare act. In order to provide a safe and environment for our animals while they are traveling and visiting customers. 
• Animal handling instructions must be followed. We have the right to deny unsafe/inappropriate handling requests or intervene in the event that handling becomes unsafe for either the animal or customer. 
• Visiting customers is to be a safe experience for both ourselves and the animals and we hold the right to remove them from any situation we deem dangerous or in breach of their welfare. 
• We will provide an appropriate selection of animals from what we have available and which animals are able to travel on the day of the visit, based on information provided to us. Requests can be made, though this is based on availability and the animal’s welfare, so we are not obligated to fulfil requests.
• We will provide enough material to fit size of the group, when the group size is queried during the booking.
• We will bring appropriate activities for the groups age and ability, as much as this is indicated to us during the booking. 

Things we will not do

• Please note that our animal sessions are intended to be calmer experiences. We do not do circus acts with our animals.
• For birthday parties- we provide entertainment and activities. We do not provide hall decorations, birthday cake or other edible items.
• While we will always endeavour to maintain a calm listening atmosphere, crowd control is not solely our responsibility and we would expect those leading the group to bear some responsibility in this. We can only raise our voices so loud, especially if we have animals, so cannot be held responsible if not everyone manages to hear all the facts/ instructions. 
• We will never use unsafe chemicals during activities.

What we need from you

• A space which can accommodate your group size, where we are able to move safely around carrying animals or doing activities. We will need to stand in front of each attendee for them to interact with the animals. 
• The space must be secure (able to close doors) in the rare event of an escaped animal.
• If animals are visiting, we will need a table of medium to large size to safely place animals. 
• We will need a power source or hot water to be available to heat animals.
• In extreme heat, we will need ventilation to be available, as this can be dangerous to their health. 
• For outdoor bookings- this needs to be weather and temperature dependant. All of our animals have a safe temperature range they must stay at. Adequate shade will need to be provided for the duration of the visit.
• If animals are to not be used for part of the day, there must be somewhere safe and secure they can stay while we are running other activities.

Health and Safety

If we are unwell with an illness which might be infectious, we will notify you first as early as we can from the booking. It is then the customer’s decision whether they are comfortable with the booking going ahead. We are happy to wear PPE such as face masks. They can also request that the booking be rescheduled. A Covid test will be done if we are showing any symptoms of this. We will always meet health and safety standards.

Our website and overview sheets lay out potential allergy issues our animal sessions may cause. There are most likely to be- furry animals, snails carrying shellfish or coconut-based fibre bedding. Customers can notify us prior to the booking if they have any requests or information. Allergy information will also be given when the animal is introduced. 

Handwashing instructions are given at the start of the session, on our signage and at the end of the session. We are not to be held liable if someone becomes unwell as a result of not washing their hands.

It is the customer’s responsibility to make sure participants follow the rules and health and safety guidelines. We have the right to remove an animal or stop the session entirely if safety to the presenters or animals is at risk. No refund will be given in the event of having to stop due to safety concerns.

In the event that an accident occurs in the room such as a trip or fall, we are not accountable for this as it has not happened on our premises.

Please do not smoke near the animals. Please do not handle animals if drugs or alcohol have been consumed. Please keep dogs away from the animals. If we believe that an attendee cannot safely handle an animal, then this decision is up to our discretion. 

As per the law, we will never bring any animals listed in the Dangerous Wild Animals Act. We also do not have any animals who carry venom.

Breaks

If we are with you for a full day or a longer session, a break must be provided. This can be a few minutes between sessions and/or a lunch time if we’re with you all day. This is partly for us but mainly for our animals, so we can maintain their welfare while they are out working. 

Lateness & Sickness or other issues

On the day we will arrive with enough time to set up the relevant session. 

If lateness occurs due to traffic, weather, the missing time will either be made up or the session can be rescheduled at no extra cost. 

If sickness occurs from us, the session will be rescheduled at no extra cost. We will also contact the customer to inform them of this as soon as we are aware.

If we are unable to get to you at all due to the weather, the session will be rescheduled at no extra cost

If we carried out the booking in full, then a refund will not be available.

We are happy to receive feedback if you are unhappy with an aspect of your booking. 

Your booking will be confirmed after we receive the completed ‘safety sheet’ back from you, as this contains the confirmation you have read through this document. You will also have to provide either a deposit or full payment for the booking confirmation to go through.