Registration and Licensing of Animal Sanctuaries and Rehoming Activities in Scotland

Overview

This consultation is seeking views on animal sanctuaries and rehoming agencies to be required to hold a license or be registered to carry out these activities depending on the size of the undertaking. It looks to refine proposals surrounding thresholds for registration and licensing and enforcement.

Why your views matter

In the Programme for Government 2017-18, the Scottish Government committed to prepare legislation for a modern system of registration and licensing of animal sanctuaries and rehoming activities in Scotland. This will allow for independent accreditation of applicants to reduce the burden on local authority inspectors.

This consultation provides information on the proposed regulations on animal sanctuaries and rehoming agencies in Scotland, using the powers contained in the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.

The Scottish Government is seeking views of all interested parties to refine future policy development on this topic.

Download the consutlation paper.

What happens next

After the consultation has closed, the Scottish Government will analyse all the responses received and use feedback to help refine proposals for registration and licensing of animal sanctuaries and rehoming activities in Scotland. Where permission has been given, we will make all responses available to the public on this page. The responses to the consultation and analysis will be published in Spring 2018.