Breeding of Dogs, Cats and Rabbits
Breeding Licence - Dogs, Cats or Rabbits
Who Requires a Licence?
Under the Regulations any person breeding 3 or more litters of kittens or puppies or 6 or more litters of kits in any 12-month period must be licensed.
The requirement to be licensed does not apply however to the breeding of dogs where the offspring are intended to be trained and used as assistance dogs.
The requirement to be licensed as a rabbit breeder does not apply where a person is breeding rabbits for the purposes of personal consumption or in the course of commercial meat production.
Legislation
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (opens new window), regulation 3 and Schedule 1, Part 3 of the regulations.
General conditions for animal activities licences:
Specific conditions for Dogs:
Specific conditions for Cats:
Specific conditions for Rabbits:
Guidance
The Scottish Government has issued guidance notes for breeding of dogs, cats and rabbits.
Applying for a Breeding Licence
Anyone wishing to apply must:
- complete a breeding application form (Word doc, 75 KB)(opens new window) ;
- return it via email or to the address on the application form; and
- pay the appropriate fee (PDF, 107 KB)(opens new window) online at 'Pay for it' - select 'Trading Standards' then 'Animal Welfare Licence'. Please contact us to obtain your reference number.
An officer will then be in touch to discuss your application and arrange an inspection.
A veterinary surgeon will also be appointed by us to assist officers undertaking inspections in relation to licence applications. You will be invoiced separately after the inspection to recover any veterinary costs incurred.
You should note that after payment, full consideration and processing, your licence may not be granted.
The application fee will not be refunded to you even if your licence is not granted.
Licence period
The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 allow us to issue licences with a duration of one, two or three years.
In determining the duration of a licence the Council must be satisfied that the period to be granted is appropriate on the basis of its assessment of the following:
- the risk of the applicant breaching the licence conditions (including any particular licence conditions to be attached to the licence by us in relation to that particular operator);
- the possible impact of any such breaches on the welfare of any animals; and
- whether the applicant is already operating to higher standards of animal welfare than required by the licence conditions
Register
A public register (PDF, 119 KB)(opens new window) is required to be kept of licensed premises under this legislation.
