Under the Animal Welfare (Licence of Activities involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 the following types of animal businesses must be licensed by a local authority:
- animal boarding, including home boarding and day care (cats and dogs)
- dog breeding
- selling animals as pets
- hiring out horses
- keeping or training animals for exhibition.
They are covered under a single type of licence known as an 'animal activity licence'. There are nationally-set licence conditions for businesses providing animal-related services.
Businesses must comply with the conditions, and will be assessed before a licence is granted to make sure they can meet them. Licensed premises are regularly inspected, and for some of these licenses an annual inspection is carried out by a veterinary surgeon. Please note there will be an additional charge for the vet inspection.
Based on the information provided in the inspection report, we will assess the risk rating and award stars.
A premise with a lower star rating is not necessarily a premise to avoid as there are other factors that have to be considered, such as the length of time the licence holder has been operating. New businesses will be assessed as slightly higher risk simply because there is no history of good practice that can be considered.
Applications
Please email licensing@slough.gov.uk for the relevant application form.
You will need to complete and return the application form with the application fee. Fees are detailed in the following pages.
Payment must be made through the council's online payments system. You can pay for more than one licence in a single transaction.