New animal welfare regulations

What are the new animal welfare regulations?

The Government has recently published the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 under section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The effect of the new regulations is to replace some existing licensing regimes and to put in place a new licensing regime to control the following “licensable activities”:

• Selling animals as pets
• Providing or arranging for the provision of boarding for cats or dogs
• Hiring out horses 
• Breeding dogs 
• Keeping or training animals for exhibition

The regulations come into effect on 1 October 2018 and will introduce a new licensing regime to replace the licensing and registration regimes currently in place under the following legislation:

• Pet Animals Act 1951
• Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 
• Riding Establishments Acts 1964 and 1970 
• Breeding of Dogs Act 1973 and Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999
• Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925

How will I be affected by these changes?

If you have a licence under one of the above pieces of legislation that was in force on 1 October 2018, it will continue to be valid until it's due to expire. You'll then need to apply for a licence under the new regulations. Our Licensing Team are currently working on this and will be in touch with all existing licence holders in due course with further information.

Animal Welfare Licensing Policy

Following our public consultation, which we carried out from 18 November 2019 until 31 January 2020, we've recently approved our first Animal Welfare Licensing Policy. The policy contains important information about applying for and holding an animal related licence. We recommend that all applicants and licence holders read the policy carefully and contact us or email licensing@middevon.gov.uk direct if you have any questions.

Guidance from DEFRA

The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has now published procedural guidance for local authorities in relation to the new regulations, along with guidance notes on the conditions that will apply to licences:

• Procedural guidance notes for local authorities
• Guidance notes for conditions for breeding dogs
• Guidance notes for conditions for providing boarding in kennels for dogs
• Guidance notes for conditions for providing home boarding for dogs
• Guidance notes for conditions for providing day care for dogs
• Guidance notes for conditions for providing boarding for cats
• Guidance notes for conditions for selling animals as pets
• Guidance notes for conditions for keeping or training animals for exhibition
• Guidance notes for conditions for hiring out horses

Visit GOV.UK - Animal activities licensing: guidance for local authorities for more information on the guidance available. 

How much will a new animal licence cost?

Please see our Animal Licensing Fees for all related charges.

Note: We no longer accept payment via cheque.