The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018

Regulation 2

SCHEDULE 7 Specific conditions: keeping or training animals for exhibition

Insurance

1.  The licence holder must hold valid public liability insurance in respect of the licensable activity of keeping or training animals for exhibition.

Emergencies

2.  A written policy detailing contingency measures in the event of the breakdown of a vehicle used to transport the animals or any other emergency must be available to all staff.

Suitable environment

3.  Suitable temporary accommodation must be provided for all the animals at any venue where they are exhibited.

Monitoring of behaviour and training

4.  The animals must be trained by competent staff and given suitable and adequate opportunities to become habituated to being exhibited, using positive reinforcement.

Housing with or apart from other animals

5.—(1) Social animals must not be exhibited if their removal from and reintroduction to the group with which they are usually housed causes them or any other animal within that group stress, anxiety or fear.

(2) Animals must be prevented from coming into contact with each other during any exhibition where such contact would be likely to cause any of them to show signs of aggression, fear or distress.

(3) All persons likely to come into contact with the animals during an exhibition must be briefed about how to behave around the animals so as to minimise anxiety, fear and stress in the animals.

(4) No female animal with unweaned offspring may be removed from its home environment and newborn, unweaned or dependent offspring must not be removed from their mothers.

Records

6.  The licence holder must keep a list of each animal kept, or trained, for exhibition with all the information necessary to identify that animal individually (including its common and scientific names) and must provide the local authority with a copy of the list and any change to it as soon as practicable after the change.

Protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease

7.—(1) A register must be kept of each animal exhibited or to be exhibited which must include—

(a) the full name of its supplier,

(b) its date of birth,

(c) the date of its arrival,

(d) its name (if any), age, sex, neuter status, description and microchip or ring number (if applicable),

(e) the name and contact details of the animal’s normal veterinarian and details of any insurance relating to it,

(f) details of the animal’s relevant medical and behavioural history including details of any treatment administered against parasites and any restrictions on exercise or diet,

(g) a record of the date or dates of the animal’s most recent vaccination, worming and flea treatments, and

(h) the distance to and times taken for it to travel to and from each exhibition event.

(2) A record of when the animals are exhibited must be kept and an animal rotation policy must be put in place to ensure that the animals have enough rest between and during exhibition events.

(3) All the animals used in exhibition events must be in good physical and mental health.

(4) The exhibited animals must be suitable for the specific conditions, type of enclosure and actions involved in the exhibition.

(5) Any equipment, chemicals and other materials used in the exhibition must not cause the animals pain, discomfort, fatigue or stress.

(6) The animals must be transported in suitable, secure and appropriately labelled carriers.

(7) The licence holder or the licence holder’s staff must undertake a risk assessment before each exhibition event.

(8) The animals must not be handled by persons whose behaviour appears at the time to be influenced by the consumption of alcohol or by any psychoactive substance.