Animal welfare licences
There are regulations for the following animal activities. You must get a licence before starting any of these activities:
- dog breeding
- pet selling
- hiring out horses
- boarding for cats and dogs
- dog day care
- keeping or training animals for exhibition
Applications
The Animal activitity licensing process on GOV.UK
Before you apply for a licence and start trading, we recommend you get pre-application planning advice for planning requirements needed.
Read the GOV.UK Animal activities guidance and check you meet the the minimum standards before you apply for a licence.
- Download the Animal Welfare Licence application form
Inspection and scoring
As part of the application process we will need to visit and inspect the business. For new dog breeding estrablishments a vet will also need to visit. For horse riding businesses an annual vet visit is needed. Visits will take between 2-5 hours depending on the licence and how many licences you are applying for.
You will need to prepare and submit process procedures and monitoring as part of your application. This can help speed up the inspection.
Please contact licensing@pendle.gov.uk if you have any questions before the visit.
After the inspection and before the licence is granted or renewed, we need to decide:
- a star rating to award you
- how long the licence is valid for
- any licence conditions, for example, an unannounced visit within 12 months
You will be given a star rating ranging from 1 to 5, based on compliance history and the results of the inspection. This also applies if you ask for a reinspection.
The star rating must be added to the licence and the licence should be on display at the business.
| Minor failings | Minimum standards | Higher standards | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low risk | 1 star rating, 1 year licence, at least 1 unannounced visit within 12 months | 3 star rating, 2 year licence, at least 1 unannounced visit within 24 months | 5 star rating, 3 year licence, at least 1 unannounced visit within 36 months |
| Higher risk | 1 star rating, 1 year licence, at least 1 unannounced visit within 12 months | 2 star rating, 1 year licence, at least 1 unannounced visit within 12 months | 4 star rating, 2 year licence, at least 1 unannounced visit within 24 months |
A new business cannot achieve a 5 star rating, and all of the minimum standards must be met in order to achieve more than a 1 star.
Unannounced mid-term inspections
We will make a minimum of 1 unnannounced visit during the term of your licence. This is so we can make sure that the standards set during the inspection are kept for the welfare of the animals. If you are a private dwelling you will get 24 hours notice.
Cost
Listed below are the fees for each activity:
Activity |
Application Fee (£) |
1 Year Grant Fee (£) |
2 Year Grant Fee (£) |
3 Year Grant Fee (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hiring out horses – 0-5 animals |
323 |
219 |
356 |
493 |
|
Hiring out horses – 6-15 animals |
323 |
219 |
356 |
493 |
|
Hiring out horses – 16-30 animals |
323 |
219 |
356 |
493 |
|
Breeding dogs |
323 |
173 |
173 |
173 |
|
Keeping/ training animals for exhibition |
154 |
173 |
173 |
173 |
|
Selling animals as pets |
160 |
128 |
128 |
128 |
|
Home boarding for dogs |
182 |
173 |
173 |
173 |
|
Boarding cats or dogs |
182 |
173 |
173 |
173 |
|
Day care for dogs |
182 |
173 |
173 |
173 |
|
Activities 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 plus breeding dogs |
324 |
173 |
173 |
173 |
|
Activities 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 plus 1, 2 or 3 will be charged at the rate for 1, 2 or 3 plus the rate of the individual activity. |
||||
|
Appeals |
313 |
|||
|
Rescoring request |
125 (plus any Vets fees necessary) |
|||
|
Vets charges per visit (for any licence involving hiring out horses or breeding dogs). |
293 |
|||
The fees are split in two. The first charge is the cost of applying for the licence. If the licence is refused, there are no further charges.
If the licence is granted, then there are more costs for monitoring, enforcement, Government returns and re-inspections based on the length of the licence issued.
Offences
If you carry out any of these activities without a licence, you are committing an offence under section 13(6) of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. You could be sent to prison for up to six months, and/or fined. We can prosecute you for any offence under the Act.
Who can not apply?
You can not apply for a licence if you have had a licence taken away under any of the following regulations:
- Regulation 15 of the new Regulations
- Regulation 17 of the Animal Welfare (Breeding of Dogs) (Wales) Regulations 2014
- Regulation 13 of the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012
- Regulation 12 of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010
You can not apply for a licence if you have been disqualified under any of the following regulations:
- Section 33 of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011
- Section 34 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006
- Section 40(1) and (2) of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006
- Section 4(1) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
- Article 33A of the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983
- Section 6(2) of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 - keeping a dangerous wild animal
- Section 3(3) of the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973 - keeping a breeding establishment for dogs
- Section 4(3) of the Riding Establishments Act 1964 - keeping a riding establishment
- Section 3(3) of the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 - keeping a boarding establishment for animals
- Section 5(3) of the Pet Animals Act 1951 - keeping a pet shop
- Section 1(1) of the Protection of Animals (Amendment) Act 1954 - having custody of an animal
- Section 4(2) of the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925
- Section 3 of the Protection of Animals Act 1911 - ownership of an animal
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