# Breeding for food.



## Incubuss (Dec 19, 2006)

Do you need a culling licence to breed you own reptile food?


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## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

whats a culling license? I breed my own feeders and have never had any license, as far as I'm aware none are needed.


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## Incubuss (Dec 19, 2006)

It's a licence to kill animals. Noyt sure if you need one, but someone mentioned it to me.


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## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

Nerys or saxon probably could give you a definate answer as I know both have been breeding longer than me, but as far as I'm aware no license is needed to breed your own feeders.


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## stephenie191 (May 29, 2007)

Never heard of it, and a license to killa rodent sounds silly really when people are killing pest ones every day. 

Maybe its just for people who are pest controlers : victory:


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## amandy (Jan 11, 2008)

*laws*

theres a sticky on general herp chat, about the live feeding law.


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

amandy said:


> theres a sticky on general herp chat, about the live feeding law.


The OP isn't asking about live feeding but about the culling of rodents.
I honestly don't know if you need a license but I shouldn't think so.
I 'think' you have to euthanise the rodents in a humane manner though.
I use CO2 but I don't like having to do it.


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## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

Yeah the euthanasia bit is part of the animal welfare laws. Can't remember the exact wording but something along the lines of not putting the animal through undue suffering.


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## peaches (Apr 3, 2007)

The only time you NEED a licence is if the animal your culling is going to someone other than your family. Now this is general slaughter of livestock though lol

In short...nope.


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## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

peaches said:


> The only time you NEED a licence is if the animal your culling is going to someone other than your family. Now this is general slaughter of livestock though lol
> 
> In short...nope.


So where would you stand if you sold on excess frozen feeders then?


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## peaches (Apr 3, 2007)

Issa said:


> So where would you stand if you sold on excess frozen feeders then?


I don't know :lol2:

All I know that you have to have a slaughtermans licence for culling livestock (chickens, geese, sheep etc etc) if you are selling these to people outside the family....you can kill and eat your own.

Now I know this isn't really relevent to rats/mice etc etc but just thought I'd share lol


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## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

if you breed to cull for the sale market.. it gets a whole lot more complicated... 

which is why i don't, basically...

i'll let some go from time to time if people are desperate or have been let down by someone... and i will sometimes supply 10 feeds or something with hatchlings i am selling...

but in the main, what i produce, i feed to my own.

i know rory knows more about the legislation surrounding breeding for the sale market, will ask him once he gets off the phone.

but there are good reasons that there are now not many people in the uk breeding for the frozen market, in fact most the the frozen rodents in the uk are supplied by europe and america..

does make you wonder at times.. a) how they have been kept before death, b) how long they have been dead for.. and c) how many times they have been partically thawed and re frozen before they get to the end consumer.

and people wonder why i breed my own?? lol..

N


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

I only cull enough for my lot.
The rest I tend to sell as pets or to other breeders.
I've been asked to supply a couple of local snake owners, with maybe one or two snakes, I've told them I can't as I don't want to get into bother.
One bloke has bought some mice from me, I keep them here, then I cull the young for him. He pays me for looking after his mice.
He only gets the young from his mice.
He only lives two streets down, his wife won't let hiim have dead mice in the freezer, so he just comes and gets what he needs each feed time.


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## TSKA Rory Matier (May 27, 2007)

This is a subject that has been in the 'issues department' of legislation for quite some time.

Is it against the law?

No, this is a controversial topic, but there is no licencing requirement covering it as of yet, how long that will last, is hard to say.

I think that there is a lot of confusion surrounding it, that creates so much in the way of 'what if' questioning.

Do you need a licence to cull/kill rodents?

No

Why are there not many big home producers based in the UK?

Because it is cheaper to buy in from the likes of Europe and the States.

Will there be licencing in the future?

Probably there will be something in place yes, l should imagine that the new Animal Welfare Act whilst not addressing this issue now, will not leave it an empty void for too long.

But the hard core issue of supplying the local trade in theory is a very different matter to actually doing in real time.

For one thing retail prefers to see for sale, non blooded stock, whilst it may not matter in the home front if the stock is blooded, it matters a great deal to the trader as even in death prose, livestock or albeit deadstock must be aesthetic in its appearance.

There are a host of other factors that you would have to take into consideration, and l think this why many home growers tend to supply the likes of local keepers and perhaps a club or small society.

But with the increasing demand for deadstock today at sensible pricing, the temptation to breed more becomes irresistable to some producers and it is at this time that the complications would commence ................. the trouble would come in from your local council.

Hope this helps

R


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## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

oh dear, I can see a couple of people being rather miffed with me then when I wind up the feeder sales side then. Wasn't aware of any restrictions on selling frozen locally to other keepers, most that bought off me were more interested in the fact that I was undercutting the local petshop by at least 1/3. Oh well.......


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## Issa (Oct 13, 2006)

So let me get this totally straight. I can breed rats for my own snakes no worries. I can sell as many as I like (technically to anyone I choose) that are alive as pets. But if I cull, freeze and sell on any spare ones to mates I can get myself in trouble with the council..... makes sense (not!)


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## 7109 (Jan 6, 2008)

i do understand when killing rodents as i do vermin control it needs to be humanely so the animal is not in pain so basicley a quick shot to the head. unsure in the reptile world


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