Many people are misinterpreting these new laws, but they CLEARLY state it is not just a question of lowering the annual litter allowance from 5 to 3 before you need a license, but that ANY profit made from the selling of even one puppy, which exceeds £1,000 GROSS income per year will be determined as a 'business', and is subject to the new law, and it will be illegal to sell their puppies without a license displayed with their advert.

This is fantastic news for puppy welfare, and obviously if someone is selling a litter, they cannot now legally advertise it without their license details advertised alongside. This will in effect, halt the horrendous trafficking market currently raking in fortunes without any care for the poor dogs and puppies. We've all seen the heartbreaking horror documentaries, as a dog lover... I welcome this long overdue legislation with open arms. It will also be illegal to advertise a litter of puppies unless you are the breeder, therefore cutting out the callous dealers and third person commercial sales, or sell a puppy younger than 8 weeks old. There is now a hefty fine, or 6 months imprisonment for these offences if caught.

I am a properly licensed small hobby breeder of 30 years experience, and my annual inspection consists of a specially trained local authority licensing inspector, and an independent vet. The cost is approximately £300 ~ £58 for the council license, and the rest depending on the attending vet charge. They are extremely thorough, and check every part of my home inside and out, and every animal I have, meticulously. If I do not meet their strict criteria... I will not get my license! Simple as. And quite rightly too. Anyone with nothing to hide should be welcoming this new law.

The cost is a small proportion of the value of ONE puppy, so I cannot see what all the fuss is about! People accept you are not allowed to drive a car without a license, to prove capability. I fail to see the difference.

Here are some direct links:

http://www.cfsg.org.uk/The%20Animal%20Welfare%20Licensing%20of%20Activities%20Involvi/c.%20Guidance%20notes%20for%20Breeding%20Dogs%202018.pdf
(a) makes any sale by, or otherwise carries on, the activity with a view to making a profit, or
(b) earns any commission or fee from the activity.

In scope criteria:
Activities that fulfil one or more of the following criteria are subject to licensing:
1. Anyone breeding three or more litters of puppies per year (unless they can show that none of the puppies have been sold).
2. Anyone breeding puppies and advertising a business of selling them, as defined under the business test outlined above

Out of scope criteria:
Activities that fulfil one or more of the following criteria are not subject to licensing:
1. Breeders who can provide documented evidence, if requested, that none of the puppies were sold or that they kept all of the puppies themselves. Documented evidence will need to include records of the new owners of all of the puppies and provide details on why there was no transaction involved (including in kind).

Guideline indicators of “out of scope” activities:
The following may assist consideration of the criteria listed above: The Government announced in Budget 2016 a new allowance of £1,000 for trading income from April 2017. Anyone falling under this threshold would not need to be considered in the context of determining whether they are a business.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2018/9780111165485
PART 5
Breeding dogs
8.  Either or both of the following—
(a) breeding three or more litters of puppies in any 12-month period;
(b) breeding dogs and advertising a business of selling dogs.
9.  The activity described in paragraph 8 does not include—
(a) keeping a dog on any premises pursuant to a requirement imposed under, or having effect by virtue of, the Animal Health Act 1981,
(b) breeding only assistance dogs or dogs intended to be used as assistance dogs within the meaning of section 173 of the Equality Act 2010(18), or
(c) breeding three or more litters of puppies in any 12-month period if the person carrying on the activity provides documentary evidence that none of them have been sold (whether as puppies or as adult dogs).

For the record, I also declare any income from my hobby breeding to HMRC, along with proof of expenditure, and haven't yet been required to pay tax on it, so I agree, there is very little real income, when breeding is done responsibly.
But the people who ARE raking in fortunes, as trafficking and unscrupulous puppy farming has become such big business ~ will hopefully now finally be held accountable, and have been flying under the radar for far too long!
If you have nothing to hide... you have nothing to fear, and the overriding aim and outcome from this new legislation, is getting lost in a sea of panic. Namely, stop the bad guys, and save the poor puppies peddled as a commodity. That must surely take precedence, right?

Sadly it will all but end some good breeding.  The laws have existed to stop the worst breeding.  Why are licences even given out for large numbers of bitches without the staff or facilities any decent person would see as suitable?

There hasn't been the staff or will to tackle this, so how will requiring many more small scale breeders to be brought in scope help???

In my own breed as a community we adhere to quite a strict code of ethics re breeding involving expensive health testing etc, and long term responsibility for all dogs bred.

It is very difficult to persuade a person with a good bitch to take a litter to help preserve the breed and gene pool, as few are able to make that level of commitment. Just as hard to get an owner to health test a potential stud, as eh may never be used after a great deal of expense. In my 26 years, and 8 generations of dogs, involvement in my breed registrations have fallen from around 150 a year to around 50. this has necessitated expensive importations, travel abroad to mate bitches etc. None of this is cheap and beyond many, breed enthusiasts/would be preservation breeders

Also few people's homes would fulfil model one size fits all conditions, but are exactly where pups destined to live in homes should be bred, in peoples bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens with adhoc arrangements and temporary alterations for the relatively brief time a litter is reared.

To be wound up in Red tape for the occasional litter, people will just prefer to buy in their next dog, oh who from the commercial (profit driven, so forget going over and above re health testing, travel for suitable studs etc)breeder, or go abroad for decent stock???

I have a bitch due in season, a waiting list of people who have had or have dogs I have bred, and others who have recently lost dogs bred by fellow breeders, several now deceased, and was really thinking of not going ahead with a long planned litter for a bitch who is over 3 1/2 already.  need to have this litter in order that I can have one when she is 6 to keep for my next generation as three of my 5 are all over 10, and her mother is now 6 1/2.

Not that I'm breeding any longer, so what does this do to the occasional breeder (producing a litter for their next generation) which probably means only a litter every 2 - 3 years.   Mine were all born indoors, either in the kitchen, or living room (if the size of the kitchen overall prohibited putting up a whelping box in there).   And although we only occasionally had a litter of more than 6, keeping perhaps 2 back ourselves, we did sell the others.  So now that probably would mean a cash only sale with no advertising (which only once was necessary!).  I suspect this is what a vast number of 'hobby breeders' (as opposed to BYBs) will be doing rather than wade through piles of red tape re how, where and when an occasional litter is done.

If the hobby breeder feels none of this red tape is worth the end result, they will probably buy in (where from?) - what does that do for a bloodline that has been worked on for generations?  Lost?

Sadly, some genuine small breeders may be negatively affected, but I just can't get past the awful documentaries about trafficking and puppy farmers, which I have watched in a flood of tears. With this knowledge, new legislation, and stiffer sentences has got to be the way forward. Indiscriminate breeding for profit has got to be stopped, and controlled. This will only be tackled by people reporting them, knowing it is now illegal.

I'm not quite sure why everyone is so against getting licensed? Most homes CAN be adapted to meet the necessary criteria, as I said in a previous post, work with the inspectors and you will get there... unless there is a very good reason why not. I totally agree about the best start, and my babies are born in my bedroom, and later socialised underfoot. Mum and pups are lavishly cared for and much loved. Us genuine breeders will stand the test of time as the imports dwindle, with no third party sales.

AI is widely available now, and increasing in popularity, to save travelling long distances for a particular stud or breed, and I have used it for one of my dog's with success! It really is not difficult, and only adds the cost of handling and shipping to a stud fee.

I fully agree with Brainless. This will help the people just breeding to make money, and may encourage others to start breeding more. But not all of us would be able to get a license, for reasons that have nothing to do with welfare of the dogs. Not to mention that I would rather be inspected by the KC (as I am now, as an AB) than somebody from the council! The KC inspector will be an actual dog person.

I am giving up breeding myself. Not at all just because of the new rules, but it was certainly the final straw -not worth the extra hassle when we were only planning one final litter anyway. (The main reason being my health.)

And I would never describe myself as a hobby breeder as breeding is not the hobby, it's the smallest part of the hobby of dogs; showing, working, training etc.

If the 'red tape' puts a halt or just slows down imports, as they cannot sell these puppies if they cannot advertise them, and if everyone who is offered a pup by a dealer reports them... then I say HOORAY!

Can someone please explain why you are so worried about getting licensed? As I said, we accept we must be licensed to drive.

You are also inspected by an independent senior vet.

By 'hobby' breeder, I mean it denotes it is not a commercial venture.
Certainly not something I take lightly.

Why do you think the licensing rules will stop the imports? Most are not legally brought in now and those really wanting to make money will just get a license and pretend they bred the pups. Besides, both Lucy's Law and the likely change to the pet passport scheme will be better to deal with the import problem. The new licensing rules may (may!! If there is enough staff to do regular checks) mean that puppies will be reared in larger, cleaner conditions, but it's still perfectly possible to to rear them as farm animals without any health testing. Where would you rather buy a pup, from a home or from a large scale breeding facility? Question : you have a license, does it state how many dogs you can keep in total? Not just breeding dogs but retired oldies etc, total number of dogs on premises.

> Not to mention that I would rather be inspected by the KC than somebody from the council! The KC inspector will be an actual dog person.

Me too.   Further, I have seen, first hand, the result of a boarding kennel being inspected by somebody from the local Council.  First of all, he was well-known to the owners of the kennel (perhaps through  their Knights Templar connection!!) and the first thing they did with him was sit him down and bring out the Single Malt Scotch Whisky they kept for such occasions.  Going round the kennels, which had been tarted up for the visit, then eventually happened, and the new Licence issued.  

I did regard myself as a hobby breeder as it was all part and parcel of being involved in dogs, keeping, showing, judging and so on.  My hobby - which wasn't a commercial enterprise.

Just to add I do think much is being made of these new rules and regulations and time will tell how effective it proves to be.   I hope this doesn't turn out to be how it was with Dog Licences - with those who wanted to be law-abiding lining up to buy a Licence, and those who could care less, not!

Wrong wrong this is opening the door even wider to large scale puppy farming. Less than 50 miles from me is a huge puppy farm fully licensed for 250 breeding bitches(plus their in house stud dogs) They breed pedigree & crossbred designer mongrels(not KC Reg & no health tests) bitches bred to the max & then passed on to a certain well known "rescue"that is a limited company or simply disappeared. This new legislation will not affect them, but will affect a show breeder of a very high quality dogs of one of the vulnerable breeds who has one litter every 3/4 years.

They never get rid of their older dogs & often run on(& then keep)a couple of puppies. They often let promising puppies go to new exhibitors/owners & don't over charge, but would still have a gross income of £1,000 per litter. They now need a licence as they are just over the border in England. They don't have kennels etc as the breed doesn't do well in kennels & they prefer to keep all the dogs with them.

Spot on Tommee.

Excellent posts Blessed . My post of 1/10/18 was largely ignored on the forum , as I said much the same.

There are a some excellent and committed breeders on this site but there are also many who have been breeding numbers of litters of popular breeds and charging huge sums of money for the puppies. Some managing to get 6 litters out of their girls, that being before the 4 litter limit imposed by the KC.
I have  argued for legislation for many years and am delighted that the government has taken this action. It really will not affect the truly committed breeders as long as they are compliant, which I'm sure they are/ will be. The notion that puppy farms will not be affected/be encouraged is nonsense. They will need to be licenced and therefore will be subject to inspections and censure if they are found to be breaking the law. Licences will fund inspections.

And yes. HMRC should be part of this. Taxes pay for our NHS, schools , social care etc etc. There are breeders making thousands of pounds out of puppy sales, stud fees etcetc. Most of this profit. Once the , usually minimal, health screening has been done, the dogs are ready to be breeding machines.

I am prepared for outrage !

Oh my goodness, bless you... thank you so much for your support Jan!
I had decided to call a halt to my forum contributions, as it seemed everyone was 'missing the point'.
You are spot on, absolutely. And if a breeder has nothing to hide... they have nothing to fear!
Puppies and mums welfare FIRST ~ a breeders inconvenience and percentage of one pup expenses, second.

It's an income of £1k that you need a license for not profit,  last year I had one litter of 4 pups, income £3400  expenditure £6700  total loss £3300 and I still have to be licensed according to the rules, but not according to my council.  This year one litter of 3 pups and a c-section, and so far this year I'm running at £2000 loss, I declare everything to HMRC and havent had to pay a penny tax since 2002.

My council said this proves I'm not breeding for profit, so if I don't apply for a license, what happens if I have a big litter where a small amount of profit is made?

Oh dear you both do not understand do you.

It's NOT about the money, the breeder I wrote about owns a highly successful business & their own 6 bedroomed detached property set in it's own 50 acre estate. They have already been told by their local authority that they will be restricted to 6 adult dogs if they become licenced & wish to breed dogs. They will(in the council's words)be required to build kennels or dispose of their "excess animals" if they wish to be licensed & that they will HAVE to be licensed if they wish to breed any dogs regardless of whether they sell the puppies or not.

The Local Authority concerned is able to interpret the law in anyway they want & employ anyone they wish to inspect properties.

This same authority has licensed a puppy farm for 150 breeding bitches & has done for many years despite multiple complaints from the farms customers regarding the dogs living conditions & health issues.

I breed rare breed sheep & if you think that this law will improve the health & welfare of dogs you are living in cloud cuckoo land. I have multiple laws to deal with & inspections can be made any time. One"inspector"was horrified that ewes, tups & lambs should be outside in wet weather !! Threatened to report me for cruelty & neglect for not providing indoor living areas !! Really for Herdwicks the most hardy of all UK breeds ? Add this to DEFRA reviews & veterinary inspections & yes I know how this latest law will impact on non commercial dog breeders. I do not breed sheep commercially BTW I breed to keep rare breeds in existence

Off topic but Herdy's living indoors Dont see many buildings for them up on the fells.

Sheep don’t do well indoors, they really do need to live out

Indeed, neither of you get it. The majority of puppy farms are already licensed. These rules might force them to give their dogs more space, but they can still breed from dogs not health tested, they can still churn out puppies on a production line, puppies that will never have been inside a house before being sold.

And the question I asked of Blessed that wasn't answered; does the licence state how many dogs you can keep in total regardless of whether they are breeding dogs or not? - seems Tommee has provided that answer and it is yes. So do you really want breeders whose dogs live as much loved pets be forced to rehome the older ones? It's not a simple case of not breeding until the oldies have gone naturally. Waiting for that could mean a bitch you wanted to breed from could end up being too old for a first litter. Certainly my dogs live long lives. I currently have a 16 year old, a 15 year old, a 13 year old and three 12 year olds. They all live indoors and would certainly not be sacrificed for the sake of a licence.

Call me stupid but still rather confused regarding license needed for breeding just the one litter of puppies if gross income from that litter exceeds £1000. In addition, you are legally required to show license details along with the advert..is this correct? I don't breed, but just need clarification.

I know a neighbour of mine breeds and is NOT licensed.

If you look at the websites currently advertising puppies for sale, I cannot see any one that provides license details along with advert other than council licensed ones.

A fair number of the litters advertised at present will have been bred before the new law came in and as such the breeder will not have needed a licence. All will be council licensed as that is who is responsible for issuing breeding licences.

> there are also many who have been breeding numbers of litters

and those who breed three or more litters will need to be licenced.

All those who have bred more than five litters have already had to be licenced, yet the puppy farming problem is caused primarily by large scale breeders, most of which are licensed, yet all that happens is the continue to be licensed.

Why also entangle an occasional breeder of up to two litters in any year (I have bred two litters within a 12 month and also not bred for two years, all depends on the needs of my dogs and lines) with all this red tape, and random requirements, that may not suit the household or individual breed or dog that lives as a show/working dog and companion?

Tell that to an"official"who lives in an city & thinks all animals needs an"indoors" They thought my Shetlands were a modern mini sheep
They did ask to see my dog breeder's licence, doh I don't breed dogs, especially as all my bitches are spayed, couldn't understand why I have never bred any puppies. Shows you the thinking of the"people" involved in implementing the law.

yep, even the ABS inspectors wanted to know why one breeder in my bred didn't have heating and soft bedding in summer when all the dogs wanted was to lie on cool tile.

> If the 'red tape' puts a halt or just slows down imports,

how would it? We are referring to the breeding regs not the third party sales one, which almost everyone agrees with.

Banning third party selling will have the biggest effect on puppy farmers.

As for imports the dogs will simply be sold while still abroad, and come in on passports issued with the new owners details.

WOT a flippin nightmare, or are people making more of all this than is necessary?    I'll tell you for one, if I was still breeding, I'd leave the country, again, if I was required to have a Licence to breed every 2 - 3 years (if that - and yes, I did breed two litters in one year, from litter sisters, once) AND get rid of our oldies.  Yes, once we started having oldies (pretty much every hound we bred and kept, stayed with us to the end of their days), our numbers increased but the very thought of being required not to keep our oldies, makes my blood run cold!!  Truly.

As said, don't Puppy Farms etc. ALREADY have licences, for the most part?   Again, who polices these new laws?    Laws that can't be policed, are BAD LAWS.

My point is if its now illegal to sell a litter of pups for profit unless you are licensed, AND illegal to sell puppies unless you're the breeder... with no widespread outlet, that has got to affect imports?

Now that microchipping is UK law, every single puppy is on a central computer data base, together with the owner/breeder's details, so puppy sales can no longer go underground and undetected here. It would not be feasable to sell whole litters of puppies on a large scale, to UK buyers whilst still abroad! And brexit will affect the pet passport loophole.

Of course there will be individuals, organised criminals, and establishments who slip through the net, but without legislation, the number has been escalating to gargantuan proportions. That has to be addressed.

Sorry Goldmali for my delay in replying to your question. Yes, a licence does carry a sensible limit how many breeding girls, and how many dogs in total you are allowed, as defined by the criteria and vet recommendations, but it's completely sympathetic to your circumstances, and the fact that unlike commercial enterprises, we keep our oldies. That is taken into consideration.

I do understand the implications are initially worrying, and confusing. We're all on the same side though huh? Dog welfare. I have just tried to allay the rising panic, that getting licensed isn't the bogeyman... it's our saviour! Our properly tested, well bred, much loved puppies occasionally available, will gradually return to the prices they are worth, instead of their value driven down by the market being flooded with poorly bred imports. The cost involved is less than one puppy, generally. Most criteria can be sorted out with your inspectors, if you are willing to work together, towards a compromise. I'm not suggesting you blow smoke up their ar*e... but try not to get up their noses either!

Of course there will still be people willing to buy a cheap puppy, but no longer out of ignorance, as the general public are at last becoming educated regarding not buying from a dealer, or a BYB, and have more access to guidelines what to look for, and what to avoid. Let the dust settle, and lets try and focus on the positives? They CLEARLY outweigh the negatives!

Selling for profit ???? Puppy farms ARE licensed already & only exist to make money it will not stop them, in fact because responsible breeders don't breed to make money they are the ones being affected.

The Local Authorities by & large are not interested in whether breeding is done to promote healthier dogs, their interpretation of the Act will vary wildly over the country.

IF the act actually focused on the HEALTH of dogs & insisting that ALL breeding animals were FULLY health tested then it WOULD affect the puppy farmers & BYB. Responsible breeders already do this.

Are you suggesting that responsible breeders should give away their puppies? The council that the breeders I wrote of have told them that even if they give away their puppies they will need to be licensed & restricted to 6 dogs over 12 months of age if they breed 1 litter a year. They health test far more that most(every dog has ALL available tests done & only the best bred from)

As for BREXIT affecting the Pet Travel Scheme how will that happen? The scheme originated here in the UK to remove quarantine because of the reduction in rabies in many countries. The changes over the past 18 years are most unlikely to be rescinded. Have you been reading the media output & believing it ?? The reason that the changes were scientific & logical not political. You are aware that Lady Mary Fretwell instigated the movement that brought in the Pet Travel Scheme of course

The UK government cannot enforce UK law in foreign countries so breeding of puppies abroad & being sold to UK residents will NOT be affected. The UK government cannot prevent UK residents buying livestock abroad(unless they pass another law to stop people buying dogs abroad & being them back to the UK~highly unlikely in view of the problems that would cause legally under other UK  laws. Dogs are treated like any other goods under UK law & unless covered by current UK law( those covering hand guns, certain drugs, certain breeds of dogs etc)) dont forget the current UK government has a very fragile parliamental agreement to keep them in power. To pass a law preventing UK residents bringing their dogs to the UK will be nigh impossible & could very well bring down the government as the odds are that they would lose in both houses.

The law making it illegal for third parties to sell puppies hasn't come into force yet though - and again it is Lucy's Law, not the The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals)(England) Regulations 2018. It mentions it in the breeding rules but also says you can sell pups you've not bred to anyone licensed to sell animals i.e. petshops for instance. (Assuming I've read it correctly! In the dog breeding guidance notes it refers to paragraph 2 of schedule one of the above law.) Hopefully the ban on third party sales will come into effect soon but I think it needs to be in conjuction with a change to the passport rules to make it much harder for people to import saleable pups to the general public. (I.e. not allow imports as young as now.) It's already so very common for dealers to produce any bitch and state that she is the mother of a pup even when that isn't the case, and people fall for it.

Sadly there are still a lot of pups sold not microchipped. And a lot of people don't transfer the keepership, even when they are reminded. But nothing seems to be done about it. It's not working.

Our properly tested, well bred, much loved puppies occasionally available, will gradually return to the prices they are worth, instead of their value driven down by the market being flooded with poorly bred imports.

I doubt it very much unfortunately. The large scale breeders will not health test and don't need to either, and the general public believes it is only for our "unhealthy showdogs". A lot of the people who buy pups from dealers/large scale breeders do it because a responsible breeder would not sell them a puppy. There are so many impatient buyers out there, not willing to wait. And some even refuse to buy from people who question them as to their suitability, believe it or not. Plus of course, the responsible breeder don't have the "rare" colours.

The cost involved is less than one puppy, generally. Most criteria can be sorted out with your inspectors, if you are willing to work together, towards a compromise. I'm not suggesting you blow smoke up their ar*e... but try not to get up their noses either!

Like I said, I have passed the KC ABS inspection -twice, last time was in May this year. I doubt that I would pass a council inspection, having read the rules. First point being the number of dogs as I have so many oldies etc. I have a total of 9 dogs aged between 8 and 16. Others that won't be bred from as they are not suitable (something which may not be obvious until they are fully mature). Other points being that I don't vaccinate every year, not ALL of the dogs -even my vet told me it's pointless to vaccinate old dogs. All dogs must be checked on at least every 4 hours - sure, but what about when you spend a day at a show for instance? We kennel our dogs then, split them up so there can be no fighting etc. Weekly records of weight must be kept -easy enough for small breeds, but what about larger ones? Kennels must have drainage -mine don't, but they don't have fully concreted runs either. Dogs kept in domestic premises must have free access to more than one room - mine don't. For instance the two oldest (16 and 15) and one of the 12 year olds have their own room which we refer to as the oldies room -they would hate to be mixing with the youngsters and the much younger, stronger dogs. Obviously they go out, but they are old enough to not do much other than sleep when they are indoors, so they stay in their room. I keep little and large separate since having had an unfortunate accident caused by size difference, and this means that the larger dogs and the toydogs have to take it in turns to for instance be with us in the living room during the evening, so the dogs can't have free access to more than one room at all times. Stuff like this. And there's the big question mark of who will be allowed to run a business from their home, or not.

Okay... I concede, we'll agree to disagree, or this will go around in circles forever.
Best of luck to everyone.

Goldmali - re your last post.... that's a TU from me too.   Again I think, and hope for the sake of those who will still be taking the odd litter AND keeping their oldies when this all shakes down, it may become apparent that these fears are unfounded but I'm not holding my breath that it's not going to affect the 'reputable', and not those it's intended to affect!

But why do you feel that someone breeding less than three litters needs a Licence.

patently the health and welfare issues are very unlikely to stem from such low volume breeders????

We already are inadvertently driving people into the hands of puppy farmers by the media stating it will be illegal to breed dogs without a Licence, and most puppy farmers are licensed.  Be hard to breed in volume without someone noticing.

Many of us abhor the idea of being put in the same bracket as these people, an LA 'Licenced breeder' is synonymous with commercial breeding which we in the main are not. 

We breed to enable our hobbies and maintain our breeds.

^
Too right.  TU from me for this one.

Just adding that my council has now added the application form for a dog breeding license on their website. You need public liability insurance and they ask if you have planning permission to run a business from your premises.

They will not process an application unless it is accompanied by the following documents:

Layout/outline plan of the premises

Insurance policy

Operating procedures

Risk assessment (including fire)

Infection control procedure

Qualifications

Training records

Details/evidence of
certification by a UKAS-accredited body with 3 or more years of compliance history (that one I CAN do!)

They just refer to DEFRA's document when it comes to whether you need a license or not. So in the words of the dragons - I'm out.

getting a license is not as bad as it seems.i only breed 2 or 3 litters per year.i make very little profit.i followed all the guidelines in the regulations for breeding dogs under the new law.my council said if you have income trading of over £1000 you need a license.it was get a license or stop breeding.so i just went for it and got a license.i got all the permissions from who i needed and i had everything in place.i live in a leasehold masionette with shared gardens.i have an integral garage conversion which ive used as a dog room for years.my dogs are small breed and do not cause a nuisance to anyone.i exercise them off site and we can use the shared garden aswell.i actually got a license no problems.if you sell any puppies for profit get a license.if you are a hobby breeder work within your councils guidelines.its very simple...

The 'red line' for me is 9.4 in the guidance notes mandating vaccination.
I can overcome the DHP requirement by titre testing, but do not, and will not, destroy our dogs excellent health with a Leptospirosis vaccine.
We breed less than two litters per year, do not advertise and have documentary proof that our expenses are more than our 'profit', so consider that we are out of scope in any case.
Those of you who think that this law will be good for animal welfare are very naieve.
Many people who breed a few litters, in their home and raised with no expense spared, will give up, due to red tape.
This will just increase the market potential for large scale licensed breeders, who raise their puppies in an agricultural building with no socialization.
Good for welfare?
Of course not.
This legislation is ambiguous, confusing and divisive.
It is as clear as mud and every LA is interpreting it in a different way.
DEFRA have stated that the legislation is not targeted at the 'hobby breeders' breeding one or two litters a year, but have not made this imicit in the guidance notes.
I have no problem with the SI legislation, it is the guidance notes that have put a completely incorrect interpretation into many of the sections and I know that this will be challenged in court.
For those of you who cite the microchipping g law as a success and that all puppies bred are now traceable, you really have not got a clue!
I would be surprised if more than 2/3 puppies are chipped and no one is checking anyway!

> For those of you who cite the microchipping g law as a success and that all puppies bred are now traceable, you really have not got a clue!<br />I would be surprised if more than 2/3 puppies are chipped and no one is checking anyway!

I use this one for those people who somehow think a Dog Licence would help with dog related issues.

Basically if this one worked and was enforced, why would a Licence be needed, the ownership of all dogs and where they live would be known???

Where all the dogs in rescue originated (after a few years) would be known also.

Based on friends who work for vets and also my local Facebook lost and found pages, lots of dogs and pups are unchipped or strangely chipped but not registered.

A good friend has a friend who has adopted a four year old dog who appears to have an overseas chip and hadn't a clue how to register it here, nor has her vet.  I suggested contacting Petlog who may tell her how.

Barbara this might help your friend

Overseas microchip registration online

Goldmali & snomaes

Exactly what I thought & presumed would happen.

How can anyone be happy with this poorly thought out & written legislation? Just like all the "animal"welfare acts produced by faceless officials to placate voters.

Me ? I don't breed, never have & never will. I will source my future dogs abroad from breeders who can produce quality working healthy dogs not produced in a factory or backyard who will be the ONLY source in the UK. Might even ship my stock & life out of the UK

Did you apply for use for a business as will now be required ?? Sherriesmum

re Microchip from abroad. I have imported two dogs -one from Hungary and another from Belgium. There was no problem registering the microchips on Pet Log. However, both dogs were registered with  KC s of their countries of birth and transfer of the microchip was done when I registered them with the UKKC.

This dog is a rescue not an imported pedigree Golden Retriever. The link I have given is direct to the online Petlog registration site for ANY dog with a foreign chip

Just jumping in on this as I'm new to this forum and have now read through the entire 38 page doc on Defra about the new dog breeding laws - can anyone clarify this one for me:
'Dogs that have required surgery to rectify an exaggerated conformation that has caused adverse welfare.'
So.. I have had one of my bitches tails docked (not entirely - partially) because she kept splitting it open with excessive wagging and smashing it on things.  So would that mean I can't breed from her?

No not in my eyes because it was an injury. They would be looking at operations on skin folds, opening of the nasal cavity, operations on eyelids. So if a dog has a health condition due to it being bred in a way which causes exaggeration, excessive wrinkles, entropian, narrowing of airways, pinched nostrils. These are just examples

Update

Defra has also provided further clarification regarding the £1,000 trading income licensing exemption, which has caused considerable confusion for all parties, with many believing that this is a threshold for which anyone exceeding it would require a dog breeding licence. Defra has now made it clear that the “£1,000 trading income as referred to in the guidance documents should be used as an indicator and not a ceiling as someone with over £1,000 trading income may not be a commercial dog breeder or pet seller and they may not be making a profit”.

Thanks for sharing the information and found it quite useful.

Can I ask for clarification on the issue of hobby breeders avoiding applying for a breeding license from their LA when they are only having one or two litters per year.
I am a 5 star licensed breeder and have spent time, effort and money into creating amazing family pets. I was only having one or two litters each year prior to gaining my license.
Other hobby breeders I am aware of continue to breed one or two litters per year without applying for a license. Is this a breach of the new laws?

Purpose matters - some breed with the intention of selling the puppies and no other reason. Others breed with the intention of keeping the best puppies, and if there are extra puppies in the litter then they sell those /find them good homes. Those breeders who show their dogs normally always breed for themselves.

My first message at the beginning of this post, clarifies this quite clearly.

"Many people are misinterpreting these new laws, but they CLEARLY state it is not just a question of lowering the annual litter allowance from 5 to 3 before you need a license, but that ANY profit made from the selling of even one puppy, which exceeds £1,000 GROSS income per year will be determined as a 'business', and is subject to the new law, and it will be illegal to sell their puppies without a license displayed with their advert."

They must also declare ANY income to HMRC.