Removing an animal from your account

There are a few reasons an animal might leave your account: you sold or rehomed it, it passed away, or you simply no longer want to manage its profile. Creatures keeps these paths separate on purpose, because what should happen to the animal's records is different in each case. This article walks through the choice and what each option does.

Where to find it

On the animal's profile, open the profile menu and choose Remove from my animals. This opens a short step that asks what is happening before anything changes. Nothing is removed until you confirm on the following step, so it is safe to open and read.

If you only added this animal as a pedigree reference (you do not own it), you will not see the full options below. You will see a single step to remove yourself from the profile, covered in "Removing a reference you added" near the end.

The question: what's happening with this animal?

The first step asks "What's happening with [name]?" and gives you three choices. Pick the one that matches your situation.

Sold or rehomed to someone else

• What it does: starts a transfer of the profile to the new owner instead of removing it. The animal's records, pedigree, and history stay with the animal and move to the new owner intact.
• Why it is separate: a new owner should be able to keep the animal's records going. Removing the profile would strand that history, so for a sale or rehome, transfer is almost always what you want.
• Good to know: the new owner does not need a Creatures account yet. You can invite them by email or text, and they set up access when they accept. Full details are in Transferring an animal to its new owner.
• Listings: if the animal has an active listing, completing the transfer ends that listing for you.

[Name] has passed away

• What it does: marks the animal as deceased and keeps you connected to the profile. You stay the owner, and the profile becomes a lasting record you can turn into a memorial.
• Optional date: you can add a Date of passing if you know it. It is optional, and you can leave it blank.
• What comes next: after you confirm, Creatures offers to create a memorial for the animal. A memorial is a public tribute page others can visit and contribute to. See Creating a memorial for an animal and Tributes, visibility, and sharing a memorial.
• Listings and paid stewardships: if the animal has an active listing, it is ended. If people were supporting the animal through stewardship, those are wound down and everyone is notified.

I just want this profile off my account

• What it does: removes the animal from your account but keeps the profile live on Creatures as a public reference. Your ownership and management of it end.
• Why the profile stays: animal profiles are part of the public herdbook and other animals' pedigrees. Keeping the profile as a reference preserves that lineage record for the community, and it can be claimed later by a future owner.
• What you can add: an optional reason. It is free text, only for our understanding of why profiles get removed, and it is not shown publicly.
• Confirming: this option leads to a final step titled "Remove yourself from this profile" with the button Remove me from this profile. Nothing happens until you press it.

What "public reference" actually means

When a profile becomes a reference, it stays visible and searchable, its pedigree links remain intact, and it no longer sits in your account or under your management. It is the same kind of profile that exists when someone documents an animal they do not own. If you want the full picture of how public, private, and reference profiles differ, see Public, private, and reference animals and Reference animals: documenting lineage and inviting the owner.

If you need the profile fully deleted

Removing an animal does not erase its profile, by design. If you have a specific reason the profile itself needs to be fully deleted from Creatures, use the Contact us link at the bottom of the remove step. It opens a chat with our team so we can look at your situation directly. Full deletion is handled case by case rather than as a one-click action, because it can break pedigree links other members rely on.

Removing a reference you added

If you created this profile only as a pedigree reference and do not own the animal, the menu gives you a single step: Remove yourself from this profile, with the button Remove me from this profile. This detaches you from the reference you added. The profile itself remains on Creatures for anyone else who links to it.

Related information

• Transferring an animal to its new owner
• Public, private, and reference animals
• Reference animals: documenting lineage and inviting the owner

Updated on: 22/07/2026