The term "sanctuary" is unregulated and applied to everything from genuine rescue operations to exploitative attractions — understanding what distinguishes genuine sanctuaries from pretenders protects both animals and donors.
The "sanctuary" label is applied to facilities across a wide spectrum from genuinely welfare-centered rescue operations to commercial attractions that use welfare language as marketing while exploiting the animals they house. The key welfare-relevant distinctions are: genuine sanctuaries prioritize animal needs over visitor experience, never breed animals for commercial purposes, provide appropriate lifetime care, and do not use resident animals for direct-contact experiences. Animals in facilities that call themselves sanctuaries while operating as commercial attractions experience the same welfare deprivation as animals in explicitly commercial settings.