Animal welfare

Apply for a licence to: sell animals as pets, board cats and dogs (including dog day care), breed dogs, hire out horses or performing animals.

Application form, guidance notes and fees

Application form for a licence to: sell animals as pets, board cats and dogs (including dog day care), breed dogs, hire out horses or performing animals.

Before filling in the form, please read the guidance notes at the end of the form. 

Apply for an animal licence

Animal welfare licences take up to 10 weeks to process.

Fees

• animal licensing fees and charges

You can pay your licensing fees online using a debit or credit card.

Guidance Notes

General conditions and relevant specific conditions can be found in the guidance issued by Government below:

• Boarding cats
• Boarding dogs in kennels

• Breeding dogs
• Dog day care
• Exhibition of animals
• Hiring out horses
• Home boarding dogs
• Selling animals as pets

Animal Welfare Regulations 2018

The Animal Welfare Regulations 2018 implement a single Establishment Licence which covers the five activities, as detailed below.

Government changes have been made to improve the effectiveness of existing regulations and to simplify the application and inspection process for businesses as well as maintaining and improving existing animal welfare standards.

The animal based activities requiring a licence under this new legislation include:

• Selling animals as pets (or with a view to their being later resold as pets) in the course of a business including keeping animals in the course of a business with a view to their being so sold or resold.
• Providing or arranging for the provision of accommodation for other people’s cats or dogs in the course of a business on any premises where the provision of that accommodation is a purpose of the business.
• Hiring out horses in the course of a business for either riding, instruction in riding, or both.
• Breeding three or more litters of puppies in any 12-month period; or breeding dogs and advertising a business of selling dogs.
• Keeping or training animals for exhibition in the course of a business for educational or entertainment purposes, either to any audience attending in person, or by the recording of visual images of them by any form of technology, or both.

This new Regulation replaces the requirement in England, to be registered under the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925 or to obtain a licence under the Pet Animals Act 1951; the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963; the Riding Establishments Act 1964 or the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973.

If you have any questions or require further information please contact licensing@north-norfolk.gov.uk