Draft Legislative Reform (Dangerous Wild Animals) (Licensing) Order 2009 - Regulatory Reform Committee Contents

3  What the draft Order proposes

8. The purpose of the draft Order is threefold:

• It removes the requirement for inspections to be carried out in respect of certain applications for the grant of a replacement or additional licence. Where the holder of an existing licence applies for another licence in respect of the same species of animal as is covered by an existing licence, or an animal of another species within the same family of species, inspections will be required only when the local authority considers it to be necessary. Inspections will remain a requirement in relation to other applications for a licence;
• It extends the period of validity of a licence from a maximum of one year to two years and;
• It provides that licences will come into force immediately upon their being granted (rather than from either the date of grant or the beginning of the next following year, as was previously the case) except for renewals of a licence applied for before the expiry of the licence it is to replace, in which case the subsequent licence will come into force from the date of expiry of the licence it replaces.

Removing the requirement for inspections

9. At the moment the Act requires that an inspection is undertaken following every application for a licence, including applications for replacement licences when circumstances may not have changed. The first proposal in the draft Order seeks to provide local authorities with flexibility with regard to making such inspections. Premises will be inspected following a first application, but subsequent inspections where the holder of an existing licence applies for another licence in respect of the same species of animal as is covered by an existing licence, or an animal of another species within the same family of species, will only be required when the local authority thinks it is necessary. Examples of circumstances which might provoke local authority inspection include those where there is particularly high risk, where new species are to be kept or where there are concerns about the keeper.

10. It is expected that reducing the number of routine inspections will allow local authorities to concentrate their attention on premises or keepers that raise concerns. Local authorities will retain the ability to inspect premises before issuing a new licence and in the case of renewals if they so wish (although this will not be mandatory if the draft Order is approved) and at other times if they consider it necessary. They will also be in a position to authorise veterinary inspection of premises at any reasonable time, as is now the case.

Duration and commencement of licences

11. The subsequent two proposals deal with the duration and commencement time of licences. Currently licences are valid for one calendar year. They automatically expire on 31 December, no matter when they were granted (unless they have been issued in advance for the next calendar year). Therefore they must be renewed annually.

12. The proposed changes would extend the licence period to two years and provide that licences (other than licence renewals) will come into force immediately on their being granted. A two-year licence would effectively reduce the relevant fees payable by keepers by 50 per cent. In addition there would be a consequent decrease in the application and processing administration for both keepers and local authorities.

13. With regard to licence renewals, the proposed changes would mean that where an application is made and a licence granted prior to the expiry of the original licence, the new licence would be valid from the date of expiry of the first licence. Where an application is made for a renewal licence in advance of the expiry of the original licence, but the grant or refusal of that application occurs after the date of expiry of the existing licence, then the existing licence remains in force until the licence is granted or refused. In either case, the renewal licence must be granted for at least one species of animal which is included in the licence it replaces (whether or not it also covers other species).

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Prepared 25 June 2009