Animal welfare charity praises Fenland District Council for its work with licensed dog breeders

A global animal welfare charity has slammed local authorities for a severe lack of scrutiny over licensed dog breeders - but praised the work of Fenland District Council.

Four Paws UK’s damning report found an alarming inconsistency in local authorities’ enforcement of breeding regulations, raising urgent concerns about animal welfare.

But it said the outlook is brighter in Fenland, where there was a positive correlation between inspections and the number of licences issued or renewed. With 55 breeders registered in the authority, 93 inspections were carried out in 2023 in relation to 24 licence applications, far higher than the average seen across the rest of the country.

Four Paws campaigns lead Simon Pope said: “Overall, the findings from our research into the administering of puppy breeding licences are worrying. But it is encouraging to see that Fenland is ensuring that inspections are routinely carried out, which guarantees that they are putting animal welfare first.

“The positive steps, whilst admirable, are sadly an exception. The key objective of a dog breeding licence is to protect animals. But we’ve found such huge enforcement blind spots in terms of the inspection effort that we cannot be assured that compliance exists.”

Cllr Sam Hoy, portfolio holder for licensing at Fenland District Council, said: “We welcome the recognition from Four Paws charity and are proud that our approach to dog breeder licensing has been highlighted as an example of good practice.

“Animal welfare is a top priority for us, and we believe that robust inspections and proper oversight are essential to ensuring that high standards are met and maintained.”

Mr Pope added: “It was always expected that there would be varying levels of licensing enforcement across the UK based on the peaks and troughs in numbers of breeders across the country.

“But what we weren’t expecting was the lack of correlation between the inspections or complaints and licence approvals. There are no standard procedures for addressing complaints, no obligation to undertake interim or unannounced inspections and, with some exceptions, little to indicate that bad breeders have anything much to worry about.”

Four Paws is now calling for a pooling of expert resources at both regional and national levels and the establishment of a nationally coordinated body to support local authorities.

Mr Pope added: “Only by ensuring the right expertise is in place can we hope to restore trust in the licensing system, and more importantly, safeguard the welfare of dogs across the UK.”