Animal welfare licensing

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Who needs a licence

People who run animal businesses will have to register for a licence with their local council.

You must contact Barnet Council if you are a:

  • dog day boarder
  • keeper of exhibition, entertainment or educational animals including: falconry displays, dove releases, animal encounter experiences, or pat-a-pony days
  • dog breeder
  • kennel/cattery operator
  • pet seller
  • horse riding establishment

These groups will be covered by the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.

Anyone who belongs to one of these groups and does not register, could be guilty of an offence.

Why you need a licence

The government published the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 under section 13 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

The effect of these regulations is to replace some existing licensing regimes and to put in place a new licensing regime to control the following licensable activities:

  • breeding dogs
  • hiring out horses
  • keeping or training animals for exhibition
  • providing or arranging for the provision of boarding for cats or dogs
  • selling animals as pets

The licensing of Dangerous Wild Animals and Zoos remain unchanged.

Licensing and registration rules

The regulations that came into effect on 1 October 2018, introduce a new licensing regime to replace the licensing and registration regimes in place under the following legislation:

Licences held before 1 October 2018

If you have a licence under one of the above pieces of legislation that was in force on 1 October 2018, it will continue to be valid until it is due to expire. You will then need to apply for a licence under the new regulations.

How much it costs

Applications must be accompanied by the appropriate application and inspection fee.

Details of all fees associated with these applications can be found in the Animal Licence Fees and Charges schedule 2024 (PDF 116KB).

The application and inspection fees are payable once the application has been received and allocated to an officer. A member of the Licensing Team will contact you to take the payments.  Please ensure that you provide a suitable contact number on the application form.  

The annual fee is due prior to licence issue and then annually for the duration of the licence.  The Licensing officer will contact you to take payment of the fee once the inspection report has been processed.  Further annual fees will be invoiced to the licence holder's registered address. 

How to get a licence

To apply for a licence, you will need to complete sections 1 and 7 and then any of the other relevant section(s) dependent on the activity you are applying to be licensed for:

Please download and complete the appropriate forms and send them to animalwelfare@barnet.gov.uk or post the application to:

Licensing Team
2 Bristol Avenue
Colindale
London 
NW9 4EW

Guidance notes and code of practice

The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has published guidance for local authorities on the new regulations, along with guidance notes on the conditions that will apply to licences issued to authorise the licensable activities.

Who to contact for help

Licensing Team

2 Bristol Avenue
Colindale
London 
NW9 4EW

Telephone: 020 8359 7443
Email: animalwelfare@barnet.gov.uk