Animal Boarding

Establishments

Under the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963, anyone who wishes to carry on the business of providing accommodation for other peoples cats and dogs must obtain a licence. Before the licence is issued, the Council must be satisfied that the premises are adequate in terms of;

• construction, size, number of occupants, exercise facilities, temperature,lighting, ventilation and cleanliness
• that animals will be adequately supplied with food and drink, bedding material, adequately exercised and visited at suitable intervals
• that adequate precautions are in place in case of infectious disease
• that adequate fire and emergency precautions are in place
• that a suitable register of animals boarded is maintained

Licences are renewed, and premises inspected annually. Inspections are undertaken by local authority inspectors and/or veterinary surgeons, in order to ensure compliance with the legislation.

The Council has licence conditions and application forms available below;

• Licence Conditions - Dogs (Word Document, 0.23 Mb)
• Dog Licence Conditions (PDF Document, 0.16 Mb)
• Licence Conditions - Cats (Word Document, 0.23 Mb)
• Cat Licence Conditions (PDF Document, 0.15 Mb)
• Licence Conditions - Home Boarding of Dogs (Word Document, 0.58 Mb)
• Home Boarders Conditions (PDF Document, 0.11 Mb)
• Licence Application Form - Existing Licence (Word Document, 0.54 Mb)
• Existing Animal Boarding Premises Application Form (PDF Document, 0.1 Mb)
• Licence Application Form - New Licence (Word Document, 0.54 Mb)
• New Animal Boarding Premises Application Form (PDF Document, 0.1 Mb)

When applying for a licence, a completed licence application form must be accompanied with the appropriate fee which is currently £77.00 (Please note that the licence fee for those premises which are licenced for both animal boarding and dog breeding is £88.00 plus veterinary fees)

For new animal boarding establishments, planning permission may be required. It is recommended that you contact Planning Services for more information.