Animal health and welfare policy

The Licensing Policy and Process for Issuing Penalty Notices for Animal Health and Welfare Offences includes:

  1. Introduction
  2. Purpose
  3. Legislative framework
  4. Enforcement principles
  5. Matters for consideration
  6. Setting the Penalty Notice amount
  7. Use of proceeds
  8. Authorisation and officer competence
  9. Decision making and review
  10. Record keeping and monitoring
  11. Review of the policy

Introduction

The purpose of the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2022 is to strengthen the enforcement of animal health and welfare law in England byallowing authorities to issue penalty notices for certain animal related offences as an alternative to prosecution.

This policy sets out how the Council will use penalty notices for relevantoffences. It will also set out the factors that will be considered, and how the penalty amount is determined.

A penalty notice under the act gives an individual or body corporate(such as a company or charity) the opportunity to avoid prosecution fora criminal offence by paying a fee.

Payment of a penalty notice does not require an admission of guilt andwill not result in a criminal record.

Purpose

Penalty notices add to and complement the current range ofenforcement and regulatory options, such as:

  • Advice and guidance
  • Warning letters or statutory notices
  • Cautions and prosecutions

A penalty notice will be issued where advice and guidance would beinsufficient in redirecting behaviour or previous advice, guidance orwarnings have not been followed.

This legislation aims to:

  • Provide a quicker, proportionate enforcement option
    • Issuing a fixed penalty notice for relevant offences, avoids theneed to take every case to court
  • Encourage compliance and behaviour change
    • Penalty notices are intended to address low-level or first-time breaches, helping to correct behaviour early and improve compliance legislation
  • Reduce pressure on the courts
    • By allowing offences to be dealt with outside the criminal courts,the Act helps to reduce delays, costs, and resource burdens associated with prosecutions
  • Maintain prosecution for serious offences
    • The Act is not designed for serious or major breaches
    • Enforcement authorities are expected to use prosecution whereoffences are serious, repeated, or pose significant risks to animal welfare or public safety
  • Create consistency across animal legislation
    • The Act applies to offences set out in the legislation specified insection 3 of this policy

Legislative framework

Penalty notices may be issued in accordance with powers contained within Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2022 (external link).

A “relevant offence” is an offence specified section 1(3) of the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2022, this includes:

The 2018 Regulations include the licensing of the following activities:

  • Selling animals as pets,
  • Providing or arranging for the provision of boarding for cats or dogs, which includes:
    • Providing boarding for cats
    • Providing boarding in kennels for dogs
    • Providing home boarding for dogs; or
    • Providing day care for dogs
  • Breeding dogs
  • Hiring out horses, and
  • Keeping or training animals for exhibition

The 2024 regulations states that a “primate” is an animal of any species, other than homo sapiens, which belongs to the order Primates. They introduce a legal framework to control and effectively restrict the private keeping of primates in England unless the keeper meets zoo-level standards.

When issuing penalty notices the following statutory guidance issued by DEFRA will also be considered:

Offences under the above include, for example:

  • Carrying on a licensable activity without a licence
  • Breach of licence conditions
  • Failure to comply with an inspector or obstruction

If a person is convicted of an offence under the above Licensing Regulations the court may impose an unlimited fine.

Fixed penalty notices are capped at £5,000 under the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2022.

Enforcement principles

This policy is aligned with the Council’s Corporate Enforcement Policy and the Regulators’ Code.

Enforcement actions will be applied fairly and without discrimination. Officers will apply the principles of proportionality, consistency, transparency, accountability, and targeted enforcement.

Officers will consider actual or potential harm, risk to animal welfare, compliance history, and voluntary remedial action taken.

Penalty Notices are intended for lower-level non-compliance and form part of a graduated enforcement approach. They do not prevent alternative, or additional enforcement actions required to protect animal welfare or the wider public interest.

Matters for consideration

The following matters will be taken into account before deciding to issue a penalty notice:

  • The seriousness of the conduct to which the proposed notice relates (the “relevant conduct”)
  • The duration of the relevant conduct
  • Any evidence of intention behind the relevant conduct
  • Any evidence of previous acts or omissions by the person similar to the relevant conduct
  • Any action taken by the person to eliminate or reduce any risk of harm resulting from the relevant conduct
  • Any action taken by the person to remedy or mitigate any harm resulting from the relevant conduct
  • Whether the person reported the relevant conduct to the enforcement authority or constable
  • The conduct of the person after the relevant conduct is drawn to their attention by the enforcement authority or constable

An Officer must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a person has committed a relevant offence before they may issue a fixed penalty notice.

There is no limit on the number of FPNs an individual can receive, but repeated offences may warrant escalation to prosecution instead.

The factors set out in section 4(2) of the Act must be considered in every case.

The Statutory guidance on the use of penalty notices for animal health and welfare offences sets out how to consider these factors, and any other relevant factors.

Setting the penalty notice amount

Officers will use DEFRAs Penalty Notice Calculator when setting the penalty amount, taking into account the above factors, in particular aassessing culpability and harm; along with any aggravating and mitigating factors. The penalty will also include the total costs associated with the investigation and the issuing of the penalty notice.

Use of proceeds

Money received by Wigan Council for relevant offences must be paid into the Consolidated Fund, minus the costs of investigating the offences, and the costs of issuing the notices.

Authorisation and officer competence

Penalty Notices may only be issued by Officers authorised in writing who are competent in animal welfare enforcement and the application of the above legislation and statutory guidance.

Decision making and review

Officers must compile a brief report recording all evidence to support the issuing of a penalty notice. This will include:

  • The relevant offence or offences committed (including evidence to prove such offences)
  • Any enforcement action to date
  • The consideration of all the relevant factors applicable in each case, including the culpability and harm, and any aggravating or mitigating factors
  • The decision rationale; and
  • The proposed penalty amount

Record keeping and monitoring

Records of Penalty Notices issued will be maintained and reviewed to inform consistent enforcement and licensing decisions.

At the end of each financial year, the Council must send DEFRA information about the penalty notices they have issued for animal health and welfare offences. This is a requirement of section 6 of the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2022.

The information must include the number of penalty notices issued, the amount specified in each penalty notice and the offence that each penalty notice relates to.

Review of the policy

This policy will be reviewed periodically and following any legislative, guidance, or operational changes.