FOUR PAWS UK Responds to DEFRA Returns Local Authority Licensing Activities

Data summaries activity and fees for animal-related licenses

In response to the data reporting up until April 2025, Simon Pope, FOUR PAWS UK Campaigns Lead says:

“Earlier this year, FOUR PAWS UK uncovered the flaws in the dog breeding licensing system across the UK through a brand-new report, and the release of Defra’s Local Authority Licensing of Activities Involving Animals (LAIA) returns, confirms the inconsistencies within the current system.
Yet again, data indicates a growing trend towards issuing longer-term licences (up to three-years). However, only a small number of local authorities regularly undertake mid-term  inspections, and so many licence holders can go unchecked for years at a time.  
The central purpose of a licence is to safeguard animal welfare, but this cannot be achieved with light-touch scrutiny and minimal verification. We are proactively reaching out to local authorities and elected councillors and suggesting ways they can improve the delivery of the dog breeding licensing system. There are steps that local authorities can take which are cost-neutral, such as ensuring the licence fee is set at a level that properly covers the range of checks necessary to be certain that good welfare is being maintained.   
The licence is a front line in ensuring that puppies have the best possible start in their lives and providing that reassurance to buyers. It can’t be a watered-down by weak oversight.”