Illegal animal activities
Before a person can carry out certain animal activities, they must hold a licence from the council. This licence is in place to protect the welfare of animals and ensure public safety.
It is important we know about any operators without a licence, so we ask people to report any illegal activities involving pets.
A licence is required for:
- dog breeders
- dog day care centres
- dog home boarders
- dog kennels
- catteries
- people selling animals as pets
- people who hire horses
- people who train or exhibit animals
If, for example, your dog has stayed with a dog home boarder or you have purchased a dog from an unlicensed breeder, please tell us to help protect animal welfare.
Report illegal animal activity
You can report this illegal activity via our Licensing and Regulations portal (LAR).
You will need to sign in or create an account. Once you have logged in select ‘Requests/Complaints’ to complete the report.
Don't have an account? Register now.
Read our privacy notice which tells you how we use your data.
What happens next?
We will contact you within 10 days to discuss your concerns and next steps.
We do not deal with buyers rights. You would need to seek advice from Trading Standards for this. However, if we win a case against an illegal operator, this could help the buyer's case against the seller to claim any money back.