Breeding of Dogs

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 the scope of breeding activity that requires a licence is much wider than before. In general anyone breeding three or more litters of puppies per year (unless they can show that none of the puppies have been sold) require a licence. There are some out of scope criteria that are explained in the guidance notes.

Please note - For details of the current fees see the Animal Welfare Licence page. The first fee must be paid with your application for it to be processed. If your application is successful your licence will not be valid or issued until the second (compliance) fee has been paid.

Please ensure you have all the required procedures detailed under 'supporting documents' below to submit with your application. Breeding of Dogs Application Form docx 62KB


Your application will not be successful if you do not meet the licence conditions. You are advised to read the following documents


Supporting Documents

Please ensure that you have the written operating procedures that are required by the licence conditions to include with your application. Your application should include the following documents:-

  • A plan of the premises
  • Training policy for all staff (Schedule 2 Condition 4) and Training records and qualifications (copies)
  • Procedures for Protection of Pain and Suffering (Schedule 2 Condition 9) covering
    -feeding regimes
    -cleaning regimes,
    -transportation,
    -the prevention of and control of the spread of disease,
    -monitoring and ensuring the health and welfare of all the animals
    -death or escape of an animal
  • Emergency Plan (Schedule 2 Condition 10)

Please note: We can only process your application if:

  • the form is completed in full
  • all relevant information detailed in the application form is provided
  • the initial application fee has been paid 

Out of Scope

If you consider that you fall outside the scope of the licence requirements we will require evidence to support this position. More details can be found in the guidance notes above. Please contact us to discuss if you may be outside the scope of the Regulations.


Links

The Canine and Feline Sector Group is made up of organisations that advise Government on behalf of the sector.  The website has links to member and associate member organisations that represent different sectors of the industry


Contact us

Environmental Health
Merlin House, Merlin Way, Ilkeston. DE74RA

Call 0115 907 2244
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