Under the Pet Animals Act 1951 (PAA 1951), the ‘keeping of a pet shop’ means the carrying on at premises of any nature – including a private dwelling – of a business of selling animals as pets, and the keeping of animals in any such premises with a view to their being sold in the course of such a business, whether by the keeper or anyone else.
If you only keep or sell pedigree animals bred by you or the offspring of your pets, you are not deemed to keep a pet shop. A local authority may direct that a particular breeder, who merely sells as pets, animals which they acquired for show or breeding purposes but were found not to be suitable or needed for such purposes, is not deemed to keep a pet shop.
If you want to ‘keep a pet shop’ you must obtain a licence from your local authority which needs to be renewed annually. Failure to obtain a licence, or breach of its conditions, could see you facing a fine and/or imprisonment. The licence may be cancelled by the local authority and you may be disqualified by a court from keeping a pet shop for such period as the court thinks fit.
If a licence is refused or you want to appeal against any conditions of a licence, you can make an appeal to the magistrates’ court.
When deciding whether to grant a licence the local authority will need to be satisfied that you meet certain requirements. These include:
It is a criminal offence, under PAA 1951, to sell an animal to a person whom the seller has reasonable grounds to believe to be under the age of 12 years.
It is a criminal offence, under PAA 1951, to sell pet animals in a street, public place or at a market.
A number of criminal offences were created by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to prevent harm to animals and to promote the welfare of animals. Where such an offence is committed the court may cancel your licence to keep a pet shop, disqualify you from keeping a pet shop, fine you and in some cases, order your imprisonment.
A local authority has the power to inspect a pet shop or authorise a veterinary surgeon or practitioner to carry out an inspection on its behalf. Wilful obstruction of such an inspector is punishable with a fine.
Nicola is a dual qualified journalist and non-practising solicitor. She is a legal journalist, editor and author with more than 20 years' experience writing about the law.
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