Memorandum submitted by the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
WORK ON
FIRST TRANCHE
SECONDARY LEGISLATION
1. From April to June Defra officials co-ordinated
a series of work streams to examine the issues that had been highlighted
for inclusion in the first tranche of secondary legislation. These
were, in the main, issues on which legislation already existed,
but was in need of updating. It was decided that these areas would
be most suitable for inclusion in the first tranche, as this would
avoid increasing the burden on local authorities immediately after
the Bill's introduction. It would also enable more extensive consultation
to take place on some of the more controversial issues, and on
others that had never been previously regulated—such as
greyhound racing, sanctuaries and animal acts in circuses—if
they were included in the second tranche.
2. The working groups examined pet vending,
dog and cat boarding, and horse issues. They were encouraged to
work independently of Defra officials and to hold meetings over
and above those held at Defra. Each group elected a chairman to
co-ordinate work and chair any supplementary meetings. They then
submitted their conclusions, in the light of which Defra officials
produced proposals which were published on the departmental website.
3. The working groups were not held as a
substitute for formal consultation on secondary legislation, but
rather to allow Defra to produce outline proposals that could
be published at the same time as the draft Bill. Formal consultation
will take place once the Bill has been enacted.
PET VENDING
4. The pet vending working group's remit
was to produce proposals for the licensing of pet shops and pet
fairs. It met twice between April and June. It was divided into
two sub-groups: pet shops and pet fairs.
5. The pet shops sub-group held two additional
meetings, and was made up of the following organisations:
— Pets at Home: Steve Fairburn (Group
Chairman);
— RSPCA: Debbie Ashenhurst (Legal)
and Sarah Kennell (Scientific Officer);
— Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association:
Keith Davenport;
— Parrot Society UK: Tony Pittman;
— Companion Animal Welfare Council:
Mike Radford.
6. The pet fairs sub-group held three additional
meetings and comprised the following organisations:
— Federation of British Herpetologists:
Chris Newman (Group Chairman);
— RSPCA: Debbie Ashenhurst (Legal)
and Sarah Kennell (Scientific Officer);
— International Herpetological Society:
Roger Butler and Richard Brook;
— Sustainable Users Network: Jim Collins;
— Chartered Institute of Environmental
Health: Andrew Griffiths;
— Parrot Society: Colin O'hara;
— James Pavey: Solicitor; and
— Defra: Phil Alder (Animal Welfare
Division) and Graham Thurlow (Animal Welfare Veterinary Division).
7. Defra put forward the following proposals
based on the group's conclusions:
— Private/Member only events run by
hobbyists should be allowed to take place without licensing.
— Exhibition Shows where the principal
activity is competitive showing and no commercial trading should
be allowed to take place without licensing.
— Hobbyist Open Shows where there is
commercial trading should be licensed.
— Commercial Animal Fairs run by commercial
interests where there is commercial trading should be licensed.
— All Pet or Animal Fairs—whether
regulated or not—should abide by a code of practice.
— The Pet or Animal Fair Licence would
be distinct from a pet shop licence.
— The competency level required from
managers of Pet Shops will be raised.
— Written advice addressing the welfare
needs of the animal being sold will be made available to buyers
at Pet or Animal Fairs and Pet Shops.
HORSE WORKING
GROUP
8. The horse working group met twice in
April and May. Its remit was to produce proposals for the licensing
of livery yards, riding schools, as well as to examine the issue
of tethering. It was made up of the following organisations:
— Association of British Riding Schools
(ABRS): Lt Col (Ret'd) Gordon Wesley/Derick Ward;
— British Equine Veterinary Association
(BEVA): John Gilliver;
— British Horse Society (BHS): Christine
Doran (Approvals), Margaret Linington Payne (Training), Helen
Owens (Welfare) and Robert Weatherley (Inspection);
— International League for the Protection
of Horses (ILPH): Tony Tyler;
— Local Authorities: John Grayling
and Sandra Coombes;
— Riding Establishments Committee:
Roger Green;
— Companion Animal Welfare Council:
Sir Colin Spedding;
— Defra: Henry Hoppe and Peter Hall
(Animal Welfare Division), and Graham Thurlow (Animal Welfare
Veterinary Division).
9. In the light of its conclusions, Defra
put forward the following proposals.
Licensing of Livery Yards
— The definition of a livery yard should
exclude arrangements where a small number of horses are being
looked after for a short period of time but may include:
— Other types of livery arrangements
associated with sport.
— All new owners/managers of livery
yards will require a minimum qualification in horse care.
— Thought should be given to introducing
a minimum age requirement for owners and managers of livery yards
(subject to the requirements of equal opportunities legislation).
— Licensing visits should take place
at intervals of no less than 18 months (not supported by the group).
— A veterinarian should be present
at every other licensing visit.
— The yard should maintain a record
of every horse received into the yard in between inspections.
Licensing of Riding Schools
— This will be based on the Riding
Establishment Acts.
— There should be a minimum qualification
in both horse care and tuition for all new owners/managers of
riding schools.
— There should be a minimum age requirement
for managers (subject to the requirements of equal opportunities
legislation).
— Licensing visits should take place
at intervals of no less than 18 months.
— A veterinarian should be present
at every licensing visit.
— Riding Schools should keep a record
of any new horses introduced into the yard in between inspections.
Tethering Code
— Will be introduced as part of the
first tranche regulations.
The Group also produced a draft code on each
subject area.
DOG AND
CAT BOARDING
The dog and cat working group met three times
between April and June, and was made up of the following organisations:
— Companion Animal Welfare Council:
Bill Swann (group Chairman) and Mike Radford;
— RSPCA: Debbie Ashenhurst (Legal)
and Steve Cheetham (Chief Veterinary Officer);
— Kennel Club: Caroline Kisko;
— Dogs Trust: Clarissa Baldwin and
Chris Laurence;
— British Small Animal Veterinary Association:
Chris Laurence;
— Feline Advisory Bureau: Claire Bessant
and Gill Waldron;
— Pals4Pets—A home boarding organisation:
Monica Loosley;
— Scottish Executive: Ian Strachan
and Heather Holmes;
— LACORS: Janet Potter and Kevin Cope;
— Defra: Henry Hoppe, Edward Green
and Graham Thurlow.
Defra put forward the following conclusions
in the light of the group's proposals:
— Should be based on the Animal Boarding
Establishments Act 1963.
— Should provide for licensing by the
local authority.
— Should (like the 1963 Act) be limited
to dogs and cats.
— Licensing (with inspections by the
local authority every 18 months) is preferred to a hybrid scheme
involving registration for home breeders.
— Greater use should be made of veterinarians
when undertaking licensing visits.
— All establishments in the business
of providing boarding should be licensed (with a numerical lower
limit).
— There should be a Defra code of practice
to support local authorities and boarding establishments.
29 October 2004
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