Dog Breeding Establishments

The Animal Welfare (Breeding of Dogs) (Wales) Regulations 2014 requires anyone breeding three or more litters of puppies in a 12 month period to have a licence. It is required that anyone breeding dogs for commercial purposes to be licensed, whether they are at commercial or domestic premises.

This means that anybody breeding dogs for commercial gain MUST gain a local authority licence before they start their business.

A person found guilty of an offence under this regulation is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, a fine not exceeding £5000, or both.

Please contact us before applying for a licence so that we can advise about the requirements and conditions that you will need to meet. You can download an application form and copies of the conditions for Dog Breeding and Home Dog Breeding.  You will also need to complete  Dog Breeding Environment and Socialisation plans.  There is also a fee payable, which is detailed in the Table of Fees.

Licences are valid for a period of 12 months and must be renewed before their expiry date. 

Before being granted a licence the applicant must be able to demonstrate

• That the dogs will at all times be kept in accommodation that is suitable in respect of construction, size of quarters, number of occupants, exercising facilities, temperature, lighting, ventilation and cleanliness.
• That the dogs will be adequately supplied with suitable food, drink and bedding material, adequately exercised, and (so far as is necessary) visited at suitable intervals.
• That all reasonable precautions will be taken to prevent and control the spread amongst the dogs of infectious or contagious diseases, including the provision of isolation facilities.
• That appropriate steps will be taken for the protection of the dogs in case of fire or other emergency, including the provision of suitable and sufficient fire fighting equipment.
• That all appropriate steps will be taken to ensure that the dogs will be provided with suitable food drink and bedding material and adequately exercised when being transported to or from the breeding establishment.

A few other relevant points to note regarding the licence are:

• Bitches are not to be mated until they are at least 12 months old.
• No bitch is permitted to have more than 6 litters in total.
• Bitches must not give birth to puppies within 12 months of producing a previous litter.
• All first time licences must involve the inspection of the premises by a vet and ourselves.
• Subsequent inspections may be by ourselves alone though we may call a vet if we feel the need to.
• A licensed breeder must not sell a dog to a member of the public if he/she believes that person will then sell the dog on to another individual.
• Dogs must not be sold under 8 weeks of age other than to a licensed pet shop.

All dogs should be vaccinated so as to prevent and control the spread of infectious or contagious diseases. In practice, this means that all dogs should be vaccinated against:

• Canine Distemper;
• Infectious Canine hepatitis;
• Leptospirosis; and
• Canine parvovirus.

The law means that not all dog breeders are licensed – and in particular some specialist pedigree dog breeders may be exempt from the law. Unfortunately, we know that some breeders use this loophole in the law to run dog breeding businesses that flout the law on animal welfare, and these are almost impossible for us to find and take action against at present.

If you are buying a puppy, it is very important make sure that the premises you use are legitimate, and you should ALWAYS visit the breeder at their home to see how the puppy has been breed and reared.

NEVER buy a puppy from someone you meet at a fair or at the side of the road – the chances are that the puppy will have been illegally breed with scant regard for animal welfare – many people buying puppies this way end up paying vets bills than can run to thousands of pounds!.

You can contact us for details of licensed premises and other legitimate dog breeders in the Torfaen area.

Dog Breeding licences help to ensure that the dogs are properly looked after, by setting standards for the premises and for the level of care given. In particular, it ensures that breeding bitches are properly treated, and that the puppies are well looked after. We regularly inspect these premises for safety, and a vet accompanies us to ensure that animal welfare standards are met.

At the moment, only dog breeding is specifically covered by the law on licensing.

If you have any queries or concerns about a licensed premises, or are worried that a premises may be breeding dogs without a licence, please contact us so that we can investigate and take action as necessary. We can also look at standards of care for pets other than dogs, using our powers under Animal Welfare Act.