Animal Activities Licensing

Working jointly with the Hawk Board Raptor Awards is providing free resources to help you understand the requirements of the new regulations.

Caveat: This is not legal advice and you are strongly advised to make contact with your local District Council Licensing Department if you have any doubts about the need to register.  The information given herein is based on our current understanding of the law which may change from time to time.

FREE Checklist

You can download a FREE Checklist from the bottom of the page to help you prepare for inspection.   Alternatively, Raptor Awards also provides a training course and an extensive document pack to help you easily prepare for inspection.

Do you need to register?

1. If you use any animals (including birds of prey) for any ‘education or entertainment’ purposes you are almost certainly required to register.   Contact your District Council in writing immediately if you haven’t already done so.  [Note: Your District Inspector may agree a small business exemption if your turnover is less than £1000 pa]
2. If you breed birds of prey and sell the offspring you may need to register depending upon the number of young hawks you produce each year.   If in doubt you must contact your District Council in writing for advice immediately unless you have already done so.

Exemptions from registration:

You will not need to register if you meet any of these specific exemptions:

1. Either, You keep birds of prey (or other animals) solely for sporting purposes e.g. Falconry, and you do not use these hawks (or other animals) in any context that can be construed as ‘entertainment or education’.
2. Or, You only keep or train animals for the Military or for the Police.
3. Or, You hold a Zoo Licence where all your activities take place on the premises covered by the Zoo Licence.  If you use your animals off the premises you should contact your District Council immediately for advice
4. Or, You are a Charity and you do not undertake fund-raising activities using your animals in any context that could be described or construed as commercial ‘entertainment of education’.  If in doubt you must contact your District Council Immediately.
5. Or, You are the holder of a Travelling Zoo Licence.

 Note: Ordinary SPORTING Falconers are not affected by the new Regulations.

What to do if you are affected by the new regulations:

1. From October 1st 2018 you have a legal responsibility to notify your District Council if you believe that the regulations apply to you.   This is your responsibility and not any one else’s.  Do not wait for the District Council to find you.   You should have done this by October 1st 2018.  If you have not already done so, contact them immediately.
2. Check your premises and your accommodation to ensure they meet the required standards.  To do this:-
   1. Either download the relevant guidance documents from the Hawk Board web site.   Work through the documents and work out your legal responsibilities and what needs changing.
   2. Or, download the FREE Checklist from the bottom of the page.   Work through the checklist and make any changes to your premises and accommodation required.
   3. Or, contact Raptor Awards for availability on a Licensing training course – all documents and full explanatory training given for your specific circumstances.
3. Put your Policy Documents in place.  These are listed in the Guidance documents you can download from the Hawk Board web site.  Sample Policy Documents are provided in the Raptor Awards training and document pack.
4. Ensure your record keeping covers the 22 items specified in the Guidance Documents that should be recorded every day.
5. Ensure your Staff training records are up to date
6. Ensure your travel records and risk assessments are in place and up to date.

Need extra help?

We understand that you may need extra help to get your operation into good order before your first inspection.

Raptor Awards is providing a Free Help Line Service.  Simply complete a contact form with your telephone number and we will ring you back to discuss your situation.

Not good with paperwork?

Sadly the new regulations are quite heavy on paperwork and administration.   Raptor Awards has devised a one-day training course that includes everything you need to know about Licensing, together with a full documentation pack and detailed interpretation of how to apply the documents to your business and on-going help and updates after the training day.   Use the contact form to enquire about availability.

FREE Checklist:

We have complied a 14 page checklist that covers 89 different areas that should be checked before your licensing inspection.  Take the strain out of the licensing process by checking your facilities and record-keeping before your Inspector does.  Simply subscribe to our AAL mailing list below and we will mail your checklist to you, as well as keeping you up to date on AAL news.

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