Pet shop licence application form and conditions

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The keeping and running of a pet shop is controlled by the Pet Animals Act 1951.

No person may keep a pet shop unless they have first obtained a licence from their local authority. A pet shop licence may be issued provided the applicant is not disqualified under any of the following Acts:

• The Pet Animals Act 1951
• The Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963
• The Protection of Animals (Amendment ) Act 1954
• The Protection of Animals (Cruelty to Dogs) (Scotland) Act 1934.

How to apply for a licence

Applicants should complete the application form which is available below. On request an application form will be forwarded to the applicant for completion by post. On receipt of the application form the council will arrange for an officer to carry out an inspection of the premises to ensure its suitability for use as a pet shop. Dependant on the findings of the inspection a licence may or may not be issued.

• The application will be processed in 21 working days.
• Refer to the conditions of licence for required evidence/information.
• Please refer to the Animal Licences Fees and Charges page for current cost of a licence.
• You must contact us immediately with any changes of circumstances.

Application forms

To apply for a new licence to operate a pet shop, download and complete the pet shop licence form. To renew an existing licence, download and complete the pet shop renewal form.

NEW Pet Shop Licence application form (pdf - 566kb)
RENEWAL of Pet Shop Licence application form (pdf - 556kb)
Animal Licence Advice and Guidance (pdf - 547kb)

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The licence lasts for one year. Before the renewal date, Renfrewshire Council will write to you informing you that the licence is due to be renewed asking you to complete a licence renewal form. Following this, an inspection will be carried out by an Environmental Health Officer and when the Officer is satisfied that the pet shop meets the conditions, a new licence will be issued.

Conditions of the licence

• Animals must at all times be kept in accommodation suitable as respects construction, size, temperature, lighting, ventilation and cleanliness.
• Animals must be adequately supplied with suitable food and drink and (so far as necessary) visited at suitable intervals.
• Animals, being mammals, must not be sold at too early an age.
• All reasonable precautions must be taken to prevent the spread among animals of infectious diseases.
• Appropriate steps must be taken for the protection of animals in case of fire or other emergency.

If you are refused a licence

Any person aggrieved by a refusal to be granted a licence or by any conditions to which a licence is subject may appeal to the Sheriff who may give such directions regarding the licence or its conditions as it thinks proper.

Further information

• If any condition subject to which the licence is granted, is contravened or not complied with, the person to whom the licence is granted shall be guilty of an offence.
• Any person convicted of an offence under this Act is liable to a fine; furthermore the court which convicts any person of an offence under this Act or related legislation may also cancel the licence and impose a period of disqualification.
• The expression "the keeping of a pet shop" is, subject to certain provisions, to be construed as meaning the carrying on at premises (including a private dwelling) of a business of selling animals as pets and as including references to the keeping of animals with a view to their being sold in the course of such a business.
• It shall be an offence for any person to carry on a business of selling animals as pets in any part of a street or public place or at a stall or barrow in a market.
• It shall be an offence for any person to sell an animal as a pet to a person whom he/she has reasonable cause to believe to be under the age of twelve years.
• Any of the council's officers or any veterinary surgeon or veterinary practitioner may, if authorised do so by the council in writing, enter and inspect at all reasonable times any premises for which a licence has been granted and any animals found there or anything inside, for the purpose of finding out whether an offence has been or is being committed under the Act

Inspections

There will be an initial inspection on application and annually thereafter.

Register

Establishment	Address
Habbie Pets Ltd	Unit 52, In Shops, Paisley Centre, 23 High Street, Paisley PA1 2AF
The Pet Shop	Unit 3, Houston Court, Johnstone PA5 8DL
Proexotics	44 Glasgow Road, Paisley PA1 3AW
Paisley Pet Centre	73 Glasgow Road, Paisley PA1 3PE
Pets at Home	Unit 2, Abbotsinch Retail Park, Washington Road, Paisley PA3 4EP
Pets at Home	Unit D, Phoenix Retail Park, Paisley PA1 2AB
Dobbies Garden World	Renfrew Road, Kings Inch Drive, Braehead G51 4FB
Dragon Aquatics	41 Causeyside Street, Paisley PA1 1YL

Contact information

• email: ts.es@renfrewshire.gov.uk
• phone: 0141 840 3184 (select option 2)
• call in or write to us at:
  
  Renfrewshire Council
  Environmental Services
  Trading Standards
  Renfrewshire House
  Cotton Street
  Paisley
  PA1 1BR
  

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