Licences

Any person or organisation that supplies animals as pets to persons in Scotland that have been sourced for that purpose from either within or outwith Scotland must, subject to a few exceptions, be licenced. An example would be a person or organisation that sources street or rescue dogs from Eastern Europe for the purposes of rehoming them with persons in Scotland.

Any persons or organisations operating animal welfare establishments (such as animal sanctuaries or animal rehoming centres) where 8 animals (excluding fish) or 5 dogs or 5 equines are kept at the same time by the operator of the animal welfare establishment must be licenced.

Any person breeding 3 or more litters of puppies in any 12 month period must be licensed. The requirement to be licensed applies whether the breeder sells or otherwise supplies a puppy as a pet to another person. 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.

To run a riding establishment (where horses or ponies are hired out for riding or used for riding instruction) in England, Scotland or Wales, you need a licence from the local authority.

Any person or organisation selling animals as pets (or with the expectation of their being later resold as pets) in the course of a business including keeping animals in the course of a business with a view to their being so sold or resold.