Animal licensing

On 1 October 2018 the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 came into force.

A licence is required for the following activities:

1. selling animals as pets
2. providing or arranging for the provision of boarding for cats or dogs (home boarding and day care is licensable for dogs only)
3. hiring out horses
4. breeding dogs
5. keeping or training animals for exhibition

How to apply

Licence applications must be submitted in writing (including by email to eh.commercial@spelthorne.gov.uk) along with the required supporting information and the appropriate fee. Application form available to download.

The Council will notify licence holders when their existing licence will expire (three months prior to expiry) and licence holders must make a new application at least 10 weeks before the licence expires to continue the activity without a break. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that their application is made on time.

The Council must refuse to issue a licence if it considers that the applicant cannot meet the licence conditions, the granting of a licence will have a negative impact on animal welfare or if the level of accommodation, staffing or management is inadequate for the well-being of animals.

The applicant has the right of appeal.

Payment can be made by either of the following means:

• by returning the completed forms with a cheque made payable to Spelthorne Borough Council, to the Cashiers Section, Spelthorne Borough Council, PO Box 290, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 1XB
• by telephone using a credit or debit card by calling 01784 451499, you will hear a recorded message after the message please press 3 to talk to a customer service adviser. Please do not press 4 for payments as animal licensing is not set up on this system. Once they have taken your payment please ask them to email the receipt to eh.commercial@spelthorne.gov.uk. You should then either email or post your completed application forms to this department
• online - Please sign in or continue without an account and complete your details. Move to the next page and choose 'Environmental Health', then select the subcategory "Animal Licensing".
• Please enter the correct fee. In the message box please write the name and address of the business. It will then take you to the payment screen where you can enter your card details. Once a payment has been made an email will be sent to Environmental Health confirming payment.

Current fees and charges

*plus any additional vet fees

Inspection and standards required

DEFRA has produced mandatory conditions and associated guidance for each licensable activity, these can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities. Applicants must familiarised themselves with the guidance before applying.

As part of the inspection process premises will be risk rated against a number of factors including compliance history, complaints, welfare standards and management standards. Licences for the keeping or training animals for exhibition are not risk rated.

All applications will be assessed on:

1. an assessment of the applicant whether they are a fit and proper person to carry out the activity, their knowledge, experience, compliance history, ability to meet their licence conditions and whether they are currently disqualified from making an application;
2. an inspection of the site of the licensable activity; and
3. the payment of the appropriate fee

Length of the licence and star rating

Licences for the keeping or training animals for exhibition are issued for three years. For all other activities the length of the licence can last for a period of one, two or three years depending on the risk rating.

This table outlines the star rating scheme:

Minor failings are those that do not compromise animal welfare.

Current Licence Holders