Animal activity licences

Boarding for cats

Dog home boarding

Dog breeding

Pets for sale

Dangerous wild animals

How we award the star ratings

All the new and renewed licences that we grant meet animal welfare standards at the time of our inspection.  

We then use a risk-based approach to rate the animal activity licences.  

We consider the: 

• Compliance history of the person applying for the licence - if they are low risk or high risk (new applicants have no compliance history and are therefore considered high risk) 
• Animal welfare standards the person follows - if they have minor failings, follow minimum standards or already operate at a higher standard 

These will determine the star-rating that we award, and the length of the licence that we grant or renew.   

Animal activity star rating system

Low risk 

We will normally rate as low risk any business that is certified by a UKAS-accredited body and with one or more years of compliance history. This is because an accredited third party has reviewed its welfare and risk management systems. 

High risk

If we find evidence of poor animal welfare or non-compliance, we will rate the business as high risk. 

We also automatically rate as high risk any new applicants that do not have one year of compliance history with a local authority or a UKAS-accredited body. 

The table below shows how we assess and manage the rating of a business.

What happens if there are concerns

If the animal licence application or our renewal inspection raises concerns that the business may not be operating to the higher standards or controlling risks correctly, we will address these in line with the government's guidance. We will also change its risk rating score.