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Licence - Animal Rehoming Activities

Licence - Animal Rehoming Activities

New legislation, The Animal (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 has been introduced which requires anyone who undertakes animal rehoming activities to be licenced by the council.

Anyone supplying an animal to a person in Scotland to be kept as a pet, regardless of country of origin, will require a licence, providing that:

• The animal is not a fish


• The animal was not bred by the supplier


• The person being supplied with the animal receives it from the supplier or someone delivering it on the suppliers behalf


• At least four other animals are supplied as pets to persons in Scotland in any 12 month period

This does not apply if you are selling an animal as a pet, operating an animal welfare establishment or if you are solely delivering an animal on behalf of the supplier.

A licence will last either one, two or three years. The factors which will influence how long a licence is issued for are:

• The risk of licence conditions being breached by the applicant


• The impact on animal welfare of breaches of licence conditions


• Whether or not the applicant already meets a standard higher than that required by the licence conditions

Licence Conditions

There are general conditions and specific conditions. General conditions (Schedule 2 of the Regulations) are applied to the licence and these are prescribed in law.

The specific conditions relate to the breeding activity being licenced. The Council may also attach any other conditions.

The general conditions relate to:

• Displaying the licence


• Keeping of records


• Numbers of Animals


• Staffing


• Suitable Environment for the animals


• Diet for the animals


• Enrichment and Training of the animals


• Animal Handling and Interactions


• Protecting the animals from suffering, injury and disease


• Emergency plans

The specific conditions are outlined in The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021. They can be found at Schedule 4, Engaging in Animal Rehoming Activities.

The Council may also attach such further conditions as it considers necessary for securing the welfare of animals of animals the licence holder will be responsible for.

Important

The application process may involve an inspection by a Veterinary Surgeon appointed by the Council. The full cost of this must be met by the applicant before a licence will be issued. The cost will vary depending on individual circumstances.

An applicant may not appoint their own Veterinary Surgeon or request a specific Veterinary Surgeon be appointed.

The Council has no control over the fees charged by a Veterinary Surgeon it appoints but the applicant will be informed, in advance where possible, what the fees are or are estimated to be.

Apply

To apply for a licence for animal rehoming activities, or for further information regarding a licence please email licensing@clacks.gov.uk.