Category: Pet Keeping

Animal Activities Licensing Act 2018 on its way!

Puppy, very young, Animal Activities Licensing Act 2018
Are his prospects about to change?

Better late than never

There hasn’t been much media attention over the last year of the upcoming Animal Activities Licensing Act 2018 due to go through Parliament on the 5th. October 2018. It is important and relevant to a lot of the welfare issues which cause immense suffering, particularly the illicit puppy breeding and selling industry which does hit the headlines regularly. The law is aimed at registering specific animal-related establishments and activities, with the aim of maintaining good standards of animal welfare.

The new law will regulate the licensing of performing and exhibition animals, pet sales, dog and cat boarding, riding establishments and importantly dog breeding.

The new law will replace five outdated ones which have been in place since 1925 which have obviously been overtaken in the century it has taken this nation of animal lovers to update them.

The Animal Activities Licensing Act again highlights our lackadaisical approach to animal welfare, as these laws should have been updated soon after the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) 2006 came into force. In the interim 12 years, a lot of animals may have suffered as the old licensing laws were not compatible with the new AWA, so not all local authorities had applied its requirements to their licensing activities, which resulted in some welfare needs not being met.

Again this is because of the absurdity that local authorities are not required to enforce the AWA Act, even though they have powers to do so.

The huge step forward is that anyone trading commercially in pets online will need a licence and to give their licensing details in the advertisements, which should allow prospective owners to pick out the legitimate ones.

Puppy, behind wire, mournful
Lets hope this is the beginning of the end of puppy farming.

The rules for licensed breeding premises are tightened as well, with only the breeder being able to sell the puppies from their own premises, with the mother of the pup present. Strict rules on caring for the mother and pups are included as is the procedure for the hand-over of the puppy to new owners. Supposedly it will make backstreet breeders toe the line and keep to high welfare standards and obtaining licences.

The Animal Activities Licensing Act is a great step forward and must be welcomed by all

It shows how low our standards must have reached when it is necessary to include the following provisions in the Act for the way the bitches are kept. The new Act specifies that they must have the space to:

Stand;  Lie down outstretched; Wag their tails; walk and turn round.

How basic is this and how similar to the requirements for intensively farmed animals and birds. The shame of it is that conditions may well get better, but puppies can still be bred in conditions as bad as intensive farming. All that’s changed is that the places will be licensed.

The law is a great step forward and must be welcomed by all, except of course for certain sections of the trade, but as always it will only be as good as its enforcement and as always who will be enforcing it – the overstretched local authority inspectors who are too busy trying to make sure the local corner kebab shop is performing good food hygiene standards.

We will see……….

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What is the definition of a suitable pet?

How do we define a pet animal and what species make a suitable pet? It is difficult to establish where and when the term ‘pet’ originated to describe animals being kept captive as our companions, and not for food or working animals, but there are various accepted definitions of the concept such as:

  • an animal that is domesticated or tamed;
  • kept for a person’s company or protection;
  • pampered and treated indulgently as opposed to being kept for performance, agricultural value or research;
  • an animal which enjoys being handled or stroked and can show affection.

These tags immediately raise many issues, as to be classified as a suitable species the animal needs all the attributes of these criteria and more which results in much debate and disagreement between the obviously biased pet trade on one side and animal rights advocates at the other extreme and professional bodies and experts in the middle.

macaw, captive
Can keeping an intelligent free-flying bird confined as a pet be suitable.

Every animal on the planet can conceivably be kept captive, but this does not necessarily mean they will thrive and live through this experience. The pet trade would have us believe that any species can be made ‘suitable’ by just domesticating or captive breeding them and they cynically introduce new ones onto the market, ably assisted by internet pet sites, social media and pet care books, all of which are keen on maintaining their turnover and profits, but little thought is given to the animals’ welfare or the ethics of keeping them, whereas professional bodies and welfare organisations believe many are unsuitable and suggest we should perhaps be concentrating more on their unsuitability.

“the mythical beast that is the suitable pet cannot exist”

Suitable pet or not?

Using the word ‘suitable’ in the context of pets is a bit of a misnomer anyway as the mythical beast that is the suitable pet cannot exist as the word is defined as being ‘right or appropriate for a particular person, purpose, or situation’ and no species or individual animal can hope to be all-encompassing. In order to fulfill every prospective pet parents’ wishes, situation and circumstances, and to be the right environment for the animal, it would have to be a very bespoke creature indeed to be a perfect match.

The variety and scope now offered on the pet market is vast and the days of just keeping a dog, cat, rabbit or small rodent are long gone and have been replaced with a desire to keep reptiles and other so-called exotics and unusual animals, again mainly through encouragement by the pet trade, internet sites and the media.

“Realistically only the domesticated dog and cat have the attributes and gifts to fulfill the role of a ‘suitable’ pet”

Cat, face, eyes
Are dogs and cats the only species which meet all the criteria of suitable pets?

Most pets are identified as being ‘companion animals’, because a companion is a mate, buddy or confidant and that is all many of us ask in a pet, but there will always be those who want to push the boundaries which usually ends in suffering for the animals involved.

Realistically only the domesticated dog and cat possess the range of emotions, nature and devotion to console and keep us company, and also, if cared for properly, can also reap benefits from the relationship themselves, unlike such creatures as reptiles or fish, therefore it could be argued that pet keeping should be restricted to these species, but there is little hope that this would occur.

Any referendum or vote on restricting pet ownership to just dogs and cats would certainly get my vote.
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