New rules for animal licensing

A new regime for animal licensing is taking effect from 1 October 2018, with significant implications for new and existing licence holders

Links to the new regulations and DEFRA guidance documents are available on Wiltshire Council's website www.wiltshire.gov.uk/licences-permits-animal

The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals)(England) Regulations 2018 define the animal based activities that require licences as follows:

 Selling animals as pets (or with a view to their being later resold as pets) in the course of a business including keeping animals in the course of a business with a view to their being so sold or resold.

 Providing or arranging for the provision of accommodation for other people's cats or dogs in the course of a business on any premises where the provision of that accommodation is a purpose of the business. ( This includes home boarding)

 Hiring out horses in the course of a business for either riding, instruction in riding, or both.

 Breeding three or more litters of puppies in any 12-month period; or breeding dogs and advertising a business of selling dogs.

 Keeping or training animals for exhibition in the course of a business for educational or entertainment purposes, either to any audience attending in person, or by the recording of visual images of them by any form of technology, or both.

All existing types of licence, together with the additional activity of keeping and training animals for exhibition, will be encompassed by one new 'Animal Activity Licence'. If an applicant is running more than one licensable animal related activity, each activity will be assessed separately and set out in one licence. The length of licence (previously one year in most cases) may be anything between one and three years dependent on the outcome of their inspection, and the type of licence.

The new provisions contain nationally set regulations for each animal based activity, which cannot be changed in any way and which form the basis for conditions on the new licences.

The fees are now to be split into two parts - the application fee, payable at the time of submission to cover the council's costs, and the licence fee, which covers ongoing enforcement and compliance requirements.

Wiltshire currently has 269 licensed animal licensed premises.

The Licensing Team are planning to hold information seminars for new applicants and existing licence holders early in October.

Please direct any questions on the new regulations to Publicprotectionnorth@wiltshire.gov.uk / or 01249 706555