The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 replaced several other pieces of animal legislation and brought in a star rating system to assess licensees.
An animal welfare licence is required for the following:
- providing boarding for cats
- providing boarding in kennels for dogs
- providing home boarding for dogs
- providing day care for dogs
- breeding dogs
- hiring out horses
- keeping or training animals for exhibition
- selling animals as pets
The conditions which licensees must now meet are provided below, as are the application forms and a bit more information.
Inspections
Once we receive an application (with required fee and supporting documents) we must inspect the premises within the next 10 weeks. Some inspections require a visit by a vet as well as a council officer – we arrange this but the vet fee is payable by you before a licence can be issued.
The inspection will assess whether the licence conditions are being met or are likely to be met. If a vet is attending they will advise us of their findings and recommendation which, along with the officer’s report, will determine if a licence can be issued.
The officer’s report will contain information about the operator, any relevant premises, relevant records, the condition of any animals and any other relevant information.
Star ratings
The scoring matrix below shows how star ratings are calculated – the model considers the animal welfare standards met and the business’ level of risk. (The risk rating is determined by the outcome of the scoring table provided in the guidance to local authorities). Businesses can attain a rating ranging from 1 to 5 stars.
Please note keeping or training animals for exhibition is the only exception. This is a standard 3 year licence and is not subject to a star rating.
An establishment with a lower star rating is not necessarily a premises to avoid – new businesses are assessed as high risk simply because there is no history of compliance and good practice that can be considered. A 2 star rated business is meeting the required conditions so shouldn’t be thought of as substandard. Only existing licensees can be given a 1 star rating and that is only if the minor failings do not compromise the welfare and care of the animal(s). A lower rated premises will be issued a shorter licence and therefore be inspected more often.
Guidance, conditions and application forms
It is really important to read the guidance notes and conditions for your proposed activity(ies) as the conditions are what you need to meet in order to get a licence. They will also help you with what to include in any written procedures required and advise what records you need to keep. These documents get updated from time to time so the links in the table below will always be to the most recent publication.
Registers
Licensing registers are available to view online. Please note the activity(ies) a business is licensed for is not displayed, nor are star ratings. This is something we have raised with our supplier.
West Lindsey District Council
Guildhall
Marshall’s Yard
Gainsborough
DN21 2NA
United Kingdom