Under The Animal Welfare (licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 you must be licensed for:
- Dogs - Any person breeding three or more litters of puppies in any 12-month period must be licensed by the Local Authority. The requirement to be licensed applies whether the breeder sells or otherwise supplies a puppy as a pet to another person.
The requirement to be licensed does not apply however to the breeding of dogs where the offspring are intended to be trained and used as assistance dogs.
- Cats - Any person breeding three or more litters of kittens in any 12-month period must be licensed by the Local Authority. The requirement to be licensed applies whether the breeder sells or otherwise supplies a puppy as a pet to another person.
- Rabbits - Any person breeding three or more litters of kits in any 12-month period must be licensed by the Local Authority. The requirement to be licensed applies whether the breeder sells or otherwise supplies a puppy as a pet to another person.
The requirement to be licensed as a rabbit breeder does not apply where a person is breeding rabbits for the purposes of personal consumption or in the course of commercial meat production.
Licence fee
| Type of licence | Fee |
|---|
| Breeding licence: dogs, cats and rabbits |
£150 |
Any veterinary inspection fees are in addition to the fee of £150.
Apply for a licence or renewal
Please complete the application form and submit to licensing@east-ayrshire.gov.uk. On receipt of the application a member of the Licensing Section will contact you for payment.
The licence may be granted for a period of up to three years.
Online via our GLAMIS system
You can also download and print the application forms below:
Dog breeding
Application for dog breeding licence (PDF 161Kb)
Cat breeding
Application for cat breeding licence (PDF 156Kb)
Rabbit breeding
Application for rabbit breeding licence (PDF 156Kb)
Guidance
The Scottish Government produced guidance:
The guidance notes should be read before applying for a licence.
Licence conditions
Under the 2021 Regulations there are general conditions attached to the licence, regardless of whether you are breeding dogs, cats or rabbits.
There will also be specific conditions attached to the licence depending on what you are breeding, whether it is dogs, cats or rabbits. The general conditions are within Schedule 2 of the 2021 Regulations and the specific conditions are contained within Schedule 6 for dogs, Schedule 7 for cats and Schedule 8 for rabbits of the 2021 Regulations.
All can be viewed below. The Licensing Section may also add additional conditions where necessary.
General conditions
Legislation.gov.uk: The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021
Specific conditions