Does anyone know the details of having a breeding licence in the north east of scotland? A neighbouring farmhouse had 4 litters last year,they are gun dogs and i know they keep a pup from a  litter but sell the rest,they are not licenced.I  would like to know a general rule on this because my wifes friend also breeds( chihuahuas) she has in the past had 3 litters in a 12 month period and is a hobby breeder and my wife and i have had many an argument on the law regarding this subject.My argument is if you are selling puppies no matter how many litters you need a licence,her argument is that depending on the area you are allowed a certain amount before needing a licence.My wifes friend does declare what she earns to the tax man though although not sure about the neighbouring farm.

The NATIONAL law (BUT I do NOT know if it covers Scotland! Check DEFRA's webpage as it is on there) is that you do not need a license if you breed less than FIVE litters in 12 months. Then certain councils have extra rules, such as my own which says that if you have more than 2  bitches "kept for the purpose of breeding puppies for sale" then you need a license. However they have assured me that as a hobby breeder (i.e. I breed to keep something to show, I can prove I am heavily into showing and do not breed to make money) then you do not need a license. So no, you most definitely do not need a license to breed regardless of number of litters.

In general if they breed FIVE or more litters they require a license from the Local Authority, that is what the legislation says, though an LA may consider someone commercial below that figure.  They would decide case by case.

Wow Marianne we posted at exactly the same time to the second :)