Types of animal welfare licences

An inspection will be undertaken as part of the renewal process for a licence. For the activity of hiring out horses there is a requirement for an annual inspection by a listed vet even if there is a 2 or 3 year licence in place

A licence holder may request a re-inspection at any time and whilst there is no limit to the number of such re-inspection requests, there are fees implications to doing so and the Council is not required to adhere to the request for re—inspection. An unannounced visit will be made at once during the term of the licence for compliance.

Unannounced inspections

Unannounced inspections can also be carried out and should be used in the case of complaints or other information that suggests licence conditions are not being complied with or that the welfare of the animals involved in a licensed activity is at risk.

An inspector may not enter any part of the premises which is used as a private dwelling unless 24 hours’ notice of the intended entry is given to the occupier.

Parts of the premises which are not a private dwelling may be entered by an inspector if the premises are specified in a licence as premises on which the carrying on of an activity is authorised or is a premises on which he reasonably believes an activity to which a licence relates is being carried on.

If you're a UKAS Accredited body

Yes. Where a scheme utilising UKAS accredited certification is operational, it will be operated against either the minimum or higher standards as set out in the certification scheme criteria and as agreed with UKAS as part of the accreditation process. If a business is certified by a UKAS-accredited certification body to the higher standards, they should automatically be considered as meeting these standards, unless there is significant evidence of poor animal welfare or non-compliance is identified during the inspection.

How to request a re-inspection

You can request a re-inspection in writing (including by email). Your request should:

• outline the case for a re-inspection – it should indicate the actions that you have undertaken to improve the level of compliance or welfare since the inspection
• supporting evidence of your improvements

A new rating must not be given on the basis of documentary evidence only.

Number of re-inspections

There is no limit to the number of re-inspection visits a business can request, however, there will be a fee for each visit charged at full cost recovery.

If we refuse your request

If you have not provide evidence, we can refuse to undertake a re-inspection on that basis. We will explain why the request is being refused and provide priority actions that must be taken in order to improve the rating and indicate what evidence will be required for agreement to a re-inspection to be made on further request.

If you disagree with our decision to refuse a request for a re-inspection, you can raise the issue with the head of the licensing department.

After your re-inspection

At the time of the re-inspection, the local authority officer should not only check that the required improvements have been made, but should also assess the ongoing standards. This means that the rating could go up, down or remain the same, change in licence length should be handled using the varying process described in paragraphs 25-35 of the Procedural Guidance referenced above.

Star ratings

Star rating are based on a combination of the business score for current animal welfare standards and risk – for example, history of compliance.

How star ratings work

Star ratings are based on the standards found upon inspection. They determine how many years your license may be granted for and how regularly you will receive unannounced inspection visits with the license period.

How you're rated

You will receive only one rating, which will cover all the activities on your licence. If your activities are meeting different standards – for example, meeting the higher standards for dog breeding, but the minimum standards for dog boarding – the overall score should reflect the lower of the two.

Any new business is not permitted to have any minor failings. They must reach the minimum standards as the lowest rating a new premises may receive is 2 Star.

Any renewal of licences may be awarded 1 to 5 stars.

• 1 Star rating indicates minor administrative failings
• 2 to 3 Star ratings indicates that minimum standards have been achieved – dependant on length of licence granted
• 4 to 5 Star ratings indicates that higher standards have been achieved – dependant on length of licence granted

After your star rating has been determined, it will be added to your licence.

Displaying your star rating

Your licence should be displayed by the business and posted on your website, if you have one.