# When do you need a pet shop license?



## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

Hello, on behalf of my otherhalf.. lol
when do you need to get a pet shop licensE?


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## shaolinmaster (Apr 28, 2008)

freekygeeky said:


> Hello, on behalf of my otherhalf.. lol
> when do you need to get a pet shop licensE?


When you have a pet shop......?


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

shaolinmaster said:


> When you have a pet shop......?


thats not the answer..


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## shaolinmaster (Apr 28, 2008)

freekygeeky said:


> thats not the answer..


Sorry..But if you know the answer then why are you asking...lol


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## Pliskens_Chains (Jun 8, 2008)

before you plan on selling livestock


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

shaolinmaster said:


> Sorry..But if you know the answer then why are you asking...lol


i know thats not the answer, btu i dont know what the answer is.....anyway...



Pliskens_Chains said:


> before you plan on selling livestock


what if i am distributing (sp) so people buy the animals, i collect and deliver, animals would only be ''stored'' here if they werent collected etc..
wouldnt be making money out of it, just making / gettign money for the shipment fees etc?


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## Pliskens_Chains (Jun 8, 2008)

freekygeeky said:


> i know thats not the answer, btu i dont know what the answer is.....anyway...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


you still need a licence to have animals on a business premises like that. if the animals were for display purposes im not sure how it would work, but say for instance that you had animals on the premises and you were broken into, your insurance wouldnt pay up if the animals were stolen becasue of lack of licence.
If you are distributing them and keeping them there i would say you need a licence.


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## Declan123 (Dec 29, 2007)

Really i think you need a Pet Shop Liesence... but just keep it in the hush if wanted....


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

Pliskens_Chains said:


> you still need a licence to have animals on a business premises like that. if the animals were for display purposes im not sure how it would work, but say for instance that you had animals on the premises and you were broken into, your insurance wouldnt pay up if the animals were stolen becasue of lack of licence.
> If you are distributing them and keeping them there i would say you need a licence.


thankyou
how much do these cost?
are they more hassel..
is it worth it?


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## Pliskens_Chains (Jun 8, 2008)

freekygeeky said:


> thankyou
> how much do these cost?
> are they more hassel..
> is it worth it?


havent a clue wether its hassel to get one. the price varies from council to council, you'd be better of asking them tbh

your very welcome.


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## Faith (May 17, 2007)

You need to contact your local council hun 
Ask them to give you some info about is as all coucils are different 
If you or the OH dont have a animal management course in your belt then your council may insist you take the course
All pet shop licence prices differe from council call the enviormental health dept and they should be able to put you in touch with the people you need to speak to


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## purejurrasic (Mar 18, 2006)

You need to get a premises licenced with PSL if you carry on a business of buying and selling animals (except inverts) or are keeping animals with a view to selling.

You dont need one if you buy an animal to breed from, and then change your mind and resell the animal.

You dont need one if you are simply selling the offspring of those animals you keep as pets or are part of breeding groups.

I understand that if one person buys from another, and you help with the distribution, then you may not need one.

However, I am awaiting confirmation of this from the policy team at defra (btw, defra dont oversee the PSL, but they do advise government as to interpritation of the laws)

If you do not carry on the business of buying and selling at your location, and do not keep animals with a view to selling them from your location, you dont need a PSL, in otherwords, you can make arrangements with someone who has a PSL !


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## Lynne (Jul 19, 2007)

my friend had to get one when she was reported to the council for selling a few beardies that were bred from her pets. she only sold to friends or people she knew, but still had to get one.


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## purejurrasic (Mar 18, 2006)

Your friends council did not understand the law then.

the Pet animals act 1951 clearly defines the following:

*7 Interpretation *(1) References in this Act to the keeping of a pet shop shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, be construed as references to the carrying on at premises of any nature (including a private dwelling) of a business of selling animals as pets, and as including references to the keeping of animals in any such premises as aforesaid with a view to their being sold in the course of such a business, whether by the keeper thereof or by any other person:  Provided that— 







(a) a person shall not be deemed to keep a pet shop by reason only of his keeping or selling pedigree animals bred by him, *or the offspring of an animal kept by him as a pet; *







(b) where a person carries on a business of selling animals as pets in conjunction with a business of breeding pedigree animals, and the local authority are satisfied that the animals so sold by him (in so far as they are not pedigree animals bred by him) are animals which were acquired by him with a view to being used, if suitable, for breeding or show purposes but have subsequently been found by him not to be suitable or required for such use, the local authority may if they think fit direct that the said person shall not be deemed to keep a pet shop by reason only of his carrying on the first-mentioned business.


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## Lynne (Jul 19, 2007)

purejurrasic said:


> Your friends council did not understand the law then.
> 
> the Pet animals act 1951 clearly defines the following:
> 
> ...


i dont know anything about the law. im just saying she had to get one and she did.


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## BecciBoo (Aug 31, 2007)

They are fairly easy to get really. We are just in the final stages now. 

We contacted the council first and talked to a few people, we got passed around from pillar to post a bit but you just need to keep phoning and pushing them. I the end we spoke to a really nice from animal welfare who basically explained the whole process and gave us some useful pointers, he sent us out an application form. We filled that in and sent of the amount our council are charging (all councils are different when it comes to the price of the licence, ours wasn't too expensive). We also contacted some other people at the council to talk about rates and council tax to make sure there was no change (we rent out property and all bills are all in the rent so this would have been an issue)

The theres a visit from the fire department, you need to have fire extinguishers, clearly marked exits, a emergency and evacuation plan (with a diagram) and fire alarms (we have one in every room but they were already there) 

The council arrange for a vet to come out. He looks at the standard of accommodation, animals and also discusses with you the animals you will be keeping and the number. The number of animals you are allowed to house will depend on the amount of accommodation you have. You also need a separate area to isolate sick animals. 

Then there is a visit from the council, they just check health and safety. and if the vet has issued any changes they check they have been carried out.

Then hopefully you get your licence. 

Then you just have to sort out tax stuff etc .... but I have a business manager (my dad...lol) and an accountant (my sister) for that stuff. I have realised though that it helps to know people and also to keep in contact with your council. And if you are explaining what you are doing and why, i.e. importing from friends that are breeders etc then they are really helpful. 

I will say that one of you needs either a City and Guilds in Pet Store Management or a equivalent qualification (Jake has a National Diploma in Animal Management with the Pet Store Management module, customer care and business management, I have a National Diploma in Animal Care (unfortunately it was all science when I did it so it doesn't really count) and a nearly completed Vet Nursing qualification, which I'm sure helped) or you need to be studying towards the exam (it can be done as an online course through the pet care trust...I can get you the link if you want)

If you need anymore info hun just give me a PM...I'll try and help


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## fantapants (Jan 4, 2008)

BecciBoo said:


> They are fairly easy to get really. We are just in the final stages now.
> 
> We contacted the council first and talked to a few people, we got passed around from pillar to post a bit but you just need to keep phoning and pushing them. I the end we spoke to a really nice from animal welfare who basically explained the whole process and gave us some useful pointers, he sent us out an application form. We filled that in and sent of the amount our council are charging (all councils are different when it comes to the price of the licence, ours wasn't too expensive). We also contacted some other people at the council to talk about rates and council tax to make sure there was no change (we rent out property and all bills are all in the rent so this would have been an issue)
> 
> ...


 
so you will be running from home or a commercial premises? i have contacted my local council in regards to our breeding tortoises and beardies etc and they didnt even know you could breed tortoises in this country. i am not joking either! but as we were getting to the stage were we may have to consider enting a stable and paddock, they said that as soon as you keep animals on rented property and then sell the off spring, you need a PSL to validate your insurance. but it IS a very grey area, and alot of councils dont really have a clue about exotics....


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

There is a thread in classified chat regarding this so I'm not going to repeat my rather long posts in there...

Basically if you are buying to sell then you need one. This includes buying and importing then selling. Distributing depends on whether you are simply the delivery driver, or if the ownership of those animals is transferred to you to sell.

If in doubt, phone your council.

They are not that expensive, they are not that hard to get generally speaking. If you find you don't need a PSL you may want to get it in writing from the council in case it is ever brought up by another organisation.

It's a shame some councils don't seem to have much knowledge of the PSL and exotics. I live in a large city and as such I have found my council to be very helpful, very knowledgeable on the legal side, very keen to do things "right" and help shops to do things right, with a very understanding & helpful vet, so found the process very smooth indeed. But obviously because of the amount of licenses they issue every year they have gotten quite a lot of experience in the area.

Obviously in an area where the council issues very few PSL a year they are going to be inexperienced, especially if that area does not have a lot of "from home" businesses or exotic businesses, but you just have to perservere.


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## BecciBoo (Aug 31, 2007)

tinkerbruce said:


> so you will be running from home or a commercial premises? i have contacted my local council in regards to our breeding tortoises and beardies etc and they didnt even know you could breed tortoises in this country. i am not joking either! but as we were getting to the stage were we may have to consider enting a stable and paddock, they said that as soon as you keep animals on rented property and then sell the off spring, you need a PSL to validate your insurance. but it IS a very grey area, and alot of councils dont really have a clue about exotics....


From Home


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

firstly thank you everyone!!

wow so very confusing, and tony, you confused me the most! lol
for starters we dont have animal management course..
basicaly ...


graham is really gettign in to uroplatus now. and we have found a good breeder who can send them on to us... from USA. But there is a big market for them over here and the guy woudl liek to send and sell a few over here, so graham said he would distribute them for him.

so basically, graham will get a list of what he has, people will then buy them , graham will send the man the money, then graham will collect them from the airport and take them to the people...
graham woudl need money for tax/vets/flights etc etc....to cover his costs, and petrol money if takign them to the buyers houses...

so.... graham wouldnt be making money, really.. just covering his costs...

sooooooo

woudl we need a license for that?

we wouldnt be getting lareg amount in, then keeping them here then selling them...

they are quite a difficult spieces so homes woudl need to be found before they are brought in to the country...

i hope that made sense?

Gina


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

What the one of the main distributors for example for "Fire and Ice" dragons do, is that you order with the person in the USA and you pay the person in the USA.

You then pay the delivery cost, including VAT etc. to the distributor in the UK.

The animals belong to the breeder, and to the customer. The only thing you are taking money for (and charging a fee for your time) is the delivery and distribution process. You can only have the animals for 48 hours without a PSL using this those, so you will need to distribute them as soon as possible.


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

ok thank you!
we woudlnt aim to have them long than a day for example anyway, as they are so very different some need very low, soem need very high temperatures... some need high humidiity etc etc, i owould aim to get them out the day i get them really, of thats possible.

this wont be happening for a while anyway, late this year, last year etc 

thank you for everyones help.

Gina


Athravan said:


> What the one of the main distributors for example for "Fire and Ice" dragons do, is that you order with the person in the USA and you pay the person in the USA.
> 
> You then pay the delivery cost, including VAT etc. to the distributor in the UK.
> 
> The animals belong to the breeder, and to the customer. The only thing you are taking money for (and charging a fee for your time) is the delivery and distribution process. You can only have the animals for 48 hours without a PSL using this those, so you will need to distribute them as soon as possible.


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