Breeding of Dogs

The Council regulates dog breeding establishments through licensing. A licence is needed if you are carrying on a business of breeding dogs for sale,or if 5 or more litters of puppies produced for sale in any 12 month period.

A licence fee of £118.50 is payable on application. If the application is withdrawn by the applicant after submission a non-returnable minimum charge of £20 will be made to recover administration costs. This will increase to £50 if a site visit has been made.

Sorry but we are unable to take online applications for this licence at the present time

Prior to granting the licence the Council will carry out a series of checks to ensure accommodation is suitable. A first time applicant for a licence will be inspected by a Vet and an Officer from the local authority. Once a breeding licence as been issued the breeder is subject to periodic inspections and an annual review to ensure that standards are being maintained.

The licence is effective for one year from the date of the issue of the licence. Licences must be renewed before that date if the premises are to continue as a dog breeding establishment.

A person will be treated as carrying on a business of breeding dogs if litters are born to five or more bitches in any 12 month period unless none of them is sold. It should be noted that the meaning of "bitches" is wider than might be supposed. It includes any bitches:

kept by any relative of yours at the premises;
kept by you elsewhere than at the premises;
kept anywhere by any person at any time under a "breeding arrangement" made with you - this means a contract etc. under which you agree that someone else may keep a bitch on terms that, should the bitch give birth, then that person will provide you with one or more of the puppies or the whole or part of the proceeds of selling any of them.

An application form can be downloaded from the related documents section.

Forms and further information can also be obtained from:-

Environmental Health Section
Merlin House
Merlin Way
Ilkeston
Derbyshire
DE7 4RA

Tel: 0845 902 4422 ext 3820

Breeding of Dogs

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