The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018

These regulations control the following licensable activities:

• Selling animals as pets
• Providing or arranging for the provision of boarding for cats or dogs (including both kennel and home boarding of dogs)
• Providing day care for dogs
• Hiring out horses
• Breeding dogs
• Keeping or training animals for exhibition

The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)

They replace the old licensing and registration requirements:

• 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

Activities which require a licence

A licence is required when any of the licensable activities in Schedule 1 of the Regulations are undertaken, these are:

1. Selling animals as pets (Part 2)
2. Providing or arranging for the provision of boarding for cats or dogs (including the provision of boarding for cats; kennels for dogs; home boarding for dogs; or day care for dogs) (Part 3)
3. Hiring out horses (Part 4)
4. Breeding dogs (Part 5)
5. Keeping or training animals for exhibition (Part 6)

Applying for a Licence

If you’re the operator of the business you can apply as long as you

1. can demonstrate that they are a fit and proper person to carry out the licensable activity and meet the licence conditions; and 
2. are not disqualified from holding a licence in accordance with Regulation 11 and Schedule 8.

Licence applications must be submitted in writing along with any supportive information and the appropriate fee. 

Licence Length

Licences can be issued for either one, two or three years depending on the risk rating and level of compliance seen at the time of the inspection. This also corresponds with the Star Rating for the business. 

Licences for the keeping or training animals for exhibition will automatically be issued for three years.

Licence Cost

The current cost of a licence fee

Risk Rating

Existing operators will be risk rated against a standard 14-point criteria checklist which considers a number of factors relating to compliance history, complaints, welfare standards and management standards.

This scoring system will determine if they are rated as either low (a score of 17 or less) or high (a score of 18 or more).

All new businesses which do not have three years compliance history with a Local Authority or UKAS accredited scheme will be rated as high risk.

Licences for the keeping or training animals for exhibition are not risk rated.

Star Rating

A key part of the Animal Activity Licence is a star rating which will be awarded as part of a risk-based system of inspection. This system will be used to determine both the time length of the licence issued and the star rating awarded.

The star rating ranges from 1 star to 5 stars. The better performing the business is from a welfare perspective the higher the star rating awarded.

The higher the standard of the business the longer the licence will be issued i.e. 1 to 3 years.

The scoring matrix determines the star rating. It takes into account the animal welfare standards adopted by the business and your level of risk (based on elements such as past compliance).

Welfare standards - scoring matrix

Risk level: Low risk

Minor failings - 1 star - 1 year licence

Minimum standards - 3 star - 2 year licence

Higher standards - 5 star - 3 year licence

Risk level: Higher risk

Minor failings - 1 star - 1 year licence

Minimum standards - 2 star - 1 year licence

Higher standards - 4 star - 2 year licence

Meeting the Standards and Conditions to Obtain a Licence

DEFRA has produced mandatory conditions and associated guidance for each licensable activity.

These are divided into two categories:

• General Conditions (Schedule 2)
• Specific Conditions (Schedule of Regulations)

You will need to meet the requirements of all the minimum standards.

Minor Failings

If minor failings, a licence will be issued but they may be noted/recorded providing they do not affect the welfare of the animals (these should be mainly administrative in nature).

Higher Standards

Each licensable activity (except the keeping or training animals for exhibition) there are a number of higher standards which have been outlined in the Defra guidance documents.

Meeting the higher standards is optional but is the only way to gain the highest star rating and the longest term of a licence - 3 years.

The higher standards are classified into two categories and are coloured Blue or Red in the guidance documents.

To qualify as meeting the higher standards the business must achieve all of the blue standards as well as a minimum of 50% of the red standards.

Assessment of a Licence Application

All licence applications will be assessed based on the following criteria:

1. an assessment of the operator (applicant) as to whether they are a fit and proper person to carry out the licensable activity, their knowledge, experience, compliance history, ability to meet licence conditions and whether they are currently disqualified from making an application;
2. an inspection of the site of the licensable activity by a suitable qualified inspector (and where applicable accompanied by a registered veterinarian);
3. the submission of the inspectors report which will contain information about the operator, details of the premises, records, conditions of the animal, the risk rating scorer, compliance details and a statement on whether licence conditions will be met;
4. the payment of the appropriate licence fee

Information Provided with the Issued Licence

We will provide the following:

1. the Licence with the Star Rating
2. details of how the business has been rated including a list of the higher standards the business currently fails to meet or a list of the minimum standards the business is failing to meet and resulting in a ‘minor failing’ category. 
3. a copy of the risk management assessment table
4. details of the appeals process and timescales 

If Your Application’s Refused

An application will be refused if it considers:

• the applicant cannot meet the licence conditions
• the granting of a licence will have a negative impact on animal welfare
• if the level of accommodation, staffing or management is inadequate for the wellbeing of animals.
• a licence cannot be issued to an operator who is disqualified 

The applicant will have the right of appeal to a First Tier Tribunal within 28 days of the decision notice. 

If you’re unhappy or disagree with the star rating awarded to you

We have an appeals procedure in place if you dispute the star rating given.

You will be provided with supportive information (the inspection reports) which will highlight the inspecting officer’s decision on how the risk rating, compliance level and star rating has been determined.

The appeal must be made in writing within 21 days and will be assessed and determined by an appointed manager within the Department.

If you disagree with the outcome of the appeal, you can challenge the decision by means of judicial review. You are encouraged to discuss the matter initially with the inspecting officer where possible.

You can apply for a re-inspection or re-rating on a chargeable basis following completion of works to rectify any non-compliance or improvements to achieve higher standards.

Non-compliance with your licence conditions

The Regulations introduced a range of enforcement powers to allow us to issue a Suspension, Variation or Revocation Notice where:

1. licence conditions are not being complied with
2. there is a breach of regulations 
3. there are issues relating to the protection of the welfare of an animal, or
4. information supplied by the licence holder is false or misleading.

The service of an enforcement notice is subject to a strict process and includes for the provision of the right to representation and appeal.

Advice and Guidance

You must meet the requirements laid down in the Regulations and meet the standards outlined in the Guidance issued by DEFRA - Animal activities licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities (gov.uk).

Displaying of Licence Details and Star Rating

DEFRA has encouraged Councils to maintain a list of licensed businesses and their associated ratings on their websites. 
Stafford Borough’s list of animal licensed premises.

If you require further details on any of the above please contact a member of the Licensing Team on 01785 619745 or email ehlicensing@staffordbc.gov.uk.