Animal Welfare Licences

This guide will tell you exactly what paperwork you need to submit with your application and direct you to further information you should read before your inspection. 

What documents do I need to submit?

It is important that you submit all of the below documents with your application as they are mandatory requirements of the licence. 

You may choose to present the documents slightly differently to how we have recommended - this is fine as long as all of the required information is clearly presented. Your policies and procedures should provide a snapshot of your business and detail how you meet all of the Licence conditions. 

You must submit: 

• A plan of the premises
• Standard operating procedures, including:
  • Cleaning Procedures
  • Feeding Procedures (including for whelping bitches and puppies)
  • Transportation Procedures 
  • Prevention and Control of Disease Procedure (including isolation policy)
• Welfare monitoring plans, covering:
  • Addition of dogs to the group 
  • Socialisation and habituation procedure for puppies
  • Monitoring policy for whelping bitches
  • Addressing abnormal behaviour/illness
  • Emergency response plan, covering:
  • Death of an animal (including storage of the carcass)
  • Escape of an animal
  • Fire
  • Extreme weather
  • Breakdown of essential systems
  • Revocation/Suspension of the licence
  • Emergency keyholders 
• A Preventative Healthcare Plan, covering:
  • Vaccinations
  • Internal and external parasite control
  • Staff training
  • Monitoring of weight and BCS 
  • This must be written with, and signed off by, your Registered Vet.
• Qualifications, including:
  • Training Records (both formal and informal training)
  • Training Policy for any staff
  • Continued Professional Development
• Register of dogs kept on the premises, including:
  • its name (both common and pedigree - where applicable)
  • its sex
  • its microchip and database details
  • its date of birth
  • the postal address where it normally resides
  • its breed or type
  • its description
• For all dogs that are being kept for breeding, the register must include:
  • date or dates of any matings, whether or not successful
  • details of its biological mother and biological father
  • details of any veterinary treatment it has received to rectify an exaggerated conformation (where applicable)
  • it’s registration status (where applicable)
  • details of any lifelong medication it is on (where applicable)

What else should I do to prepare for my inspection?

You should make sure you are familiar with the conditions of the licence to demonstrate how you meet them. 

When we inspect, we assess your business against the Statutory Guidance that accompanies the Licensing Regulations. Please ensure you have read the Guidance for Dog Breeding here.