# Animal welfate act question



## the-tick (Nov 27, 2006)

Do sellers (particulary one that advertise as adoption and education centres as well) legally have to give a care sheet to all new owners?

I have this from the defra site but it's not totally clear to me.

any help would be great 



> *Animal Welfare Act*
> 
> *Pet sales and pet fairs *
> 
> ...


This was updated in April but I've no idea if this has been passed.


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## Faith (May 17, 2007)

I know that points 2 and 5 are in place already, well here they are but im unsure if thats because brighton and hove council are strict on the licensing or if its because it has actually been passed already. I know that with the DWA they were passed in Oct of this year and written up in about april time.
Only way to know for sure is to call DEFRA and they should be able to let you know right away.


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## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

the-tick said:


> Do sellers (particulary one that advertise as adoption and education centres as well) legally have to give a care sheet to all new owners?
> 
> I have this from the defra site but it's not totally clear to me.
> 
> ...


In short, no to all the above. However, this will change as we progress with the Pet Vending legislation. This is unlikely now to be in place before 2009.


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## leptophis (May 24, 2007)

well i can tell you care guides are part of my license conditions


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## the-tick (Nov 27, 2006)

leptophis said:


> well i can tell you care guides are part of my license conditions


you wouldn't happen to come under kent county council ??? (fingers crossed)


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## Snakes r grreat (Aug 21, 2006)

the-tick said:


> you wouldn't happen to come under kent county council ??? (fingers crossed)


I think he's based in Bristol mate.


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## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

leptophis said:


> well i can tell you care guides are part of my license conditions


A Local Authority may stipulate this as an additional clause to your licence, but it is not a legal requirement under the current legislation. It is likely to be a legal requirement in the future however.


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## the-tick (Nov 27, 2006)

Chris Newman said:


> A Local Authority may stipulate this as an additional clause to your licence, but it is not a legal requirement under the current legislation. It is likely to be a legal requirement in the future however.


Even if Kent County Council have it as a stipulation they should have given one (waiting confirmation on this from KCC)


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

You may be ablet o check the coucils guidelines for pet shops and what they have to provide on the council's website The Tick. Our local council states all requirements on thiers


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## the-tick (Nov 27, 2006)

been trying to find info but it's not the best site to use :-(


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## the-tick (Nov 27, 2006)

Ok. 


Now founf KCC delagate lisencing to the LA's and this plasec LA is Tandridge and here's the synopsis of their clauses 

_*Conditions*_
_The Local Authority must attach any conditions which it considers to be necessary or expedient for securing all or any of the following:_
_that animals will at all times be kept in accommodation suitable as respects size, temperature, lighting, ventilation and cleanliness;_
_that animals will be adequately supplied with suitable food and drink and (so far as necessary) visited at suitable intervals;_
_that mammals will not be sold at too early an age;_
_that all reasonable precautions will be taken to prevent the spread among animals of infectious diseases;_
_that appropriate steps will be taken in case of fire or other emergency._
_Guidance to Local Authorities regarding conditions of licences are given in a booklet issued by the British Veterinary Association.


_
Not happy that this is mammals only. *that mammals will not be sold at too early an age;*


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## leptophis (May 24, 2007)

personally i think that stipulation is a good thing


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## the-tick (Nov 27, 2006)

brittone05 said:


> You may be ablet o check the coucils guidelines for pet shops and what they have to provide on the council's website The Tick. Our local council states all requirements on thiers





leptophis said:


> personally i think that stipulation is a good thing


soz I meant it should cover rep's and inverts etc not just mammals


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## slither61 (Nov 18, 2006)

Faith said:


> I know that points 2 and 5 are in place already, well here they are but im unsure if thats because brighton and hove council are strict on the licensing or if its because it has actually been passed already. I know that with the DWA they were passed in Oct of this year and written up in about april time.
> Only way to know for sure is to call DEFRA and they should be able to let you know right away.


Hi all,

I also belive that 6 is in force, to supply care sheet.

slither61 :snake::snake::snake::snake:


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## the-tick (Nov 27, 2006)

It's finding a definative answer that's hard


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## the-tick (Nov 27, 2006)

Just as I post that this arrives

Dear Mr ******* I have been passed your email by staff at Kent County Council and hopefully I can respond to your question.
Local Authorities are responsible for inspecting and licensing Pet shops within their districts. It is not a function performed by the County Council.  Licensing of Pet Shops is carried out under the Pet Animals Act 1951 and not as yet under the new Animal Welfare Act 2006.

As part of the licensing regime, Local Authorities attach licence conditions to their Licenses which concern amongst other things animal welfare, feeding, exercise and staff training and knowledge. Each Local Authority can attach licence conditions as they see fit and the conditions can vary between Local Authorities.
Within Tandridge our Licence condition concerning the provision of information states that:
*14.0 PET CARE ADVICE*
_14.1 PTIA Pet Care leaflets or other similar written instructions should be made available to customers where appropriate at the time of purchase_.

I hope this information is of use to you.

Yours sincerely
******
******
 Technical Officer
Environmental Health
Tandridge District Council


so they should have given a care sheet as it was apporopriate to new owners and if they had a proper care sheet a snakes death could have been avoided



result

also interesting they are not yet working under the AWA '06 yet


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## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

the-tick said:


> Just as I post that this arrives
> 
> Dear Mr ******* I have been passed your email by staff at Kent County Council and hopefully I can respond to your question.
> Local Authorities are responsible for inspecting and licensing Pet shops within their districts. It is not a function performed by the County Council. Licensing of Pet Shops is carried out under the Pet Animals Act 1951 and not as yet under the new Animal Welfare Act 2006.
> ...


The condition Tandridge District Council has sated is “should give care information” not “must”. Therefore there is no direct legal obligation for a shop owner to actually do so. Also the PTIA has not existed for best part of 20 years, so they are a bit out of date!

As I said previously the Pet Vending regulations which likely (hopefully) to make it a legal requirement to give appropriate care information is highly unlikely to be in place until 2009. Until then the 1951 Pet Animals Act will be in place.


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## TSKA Rory Matier (May 27, 2007)

Chris Newman said:


> The condition Tandridge District Council has sated is “should give care information” not “must”. Therefore there is no direct legal obligation for a shop owner to actually do so. Also the PTIA has not existed for best part of 20 years, so they are a bit out of date!
> 
> As I said previously the Pet Vending regulations which likely (hopefully) to make it a legal requirement to give appropriate care information is highly unlikely to be in place until 2009. Until then the 1951 Pet Animals Act will be in place.


Interestingly enough, when you look at the available literature on the Pet vending regulations that Chris draws reference to:

House of Commons - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Written Evidence

October 2004

Old it may be, however some of the proposals are indeed interesting and one thinks how much of the 2004 proposals have been dropped and which ones have been introduced?

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.
House of Commons - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Fourth Special Report

This too makes for interesting reading.

As does this:

Defra, UK - Animal Health and Welfare - Animal Welfare - Animal Welfare Act
*Pet vending*

*Are poultry fairs considered to be fur and feather auctions?*

We will be looking closely at animal auctions when we consider regulation of pet fairs.
*How will inspectors be able to tell the difference between a commercial trader and a hobbyist at a pet fair?*

This is something we will be addressing when we consider drafting the pet fair regulations. 
*Why is Scotland not proposing to ban the commercial selling of animals at pet fairs and will their decision provide an inconsistency as well as loopholes? *

We are not aware of their final decision on pet fairs yet. There will inevitably be inconsistencies between the different devolved administrations because animal welfare is a devolved matter, but we are liaising closely with Scottish officials. 
*When will the pet vending regulations come into force?*

Our intention is 2008.

Yet already we have read tonight that this may well now be 2009?

Rory Matier
PKL/PKA


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## slither61 (Nov 18, 2006)

Hi all,

If you get a care sheet, and a signed piece of paper saying what snake you have purchased by both parties you will be able to prove your snake is captive bred or WC or CF.

Is not something going round that if you cannot prove your snakes are CB they can be taken off you??.

slither61 :snake::snake::snake::snake:


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