Animal activities licence

• Keeping animals for exhibition, either for entertainment or educational purposes. This includes mobile animal exhibits that visit schools, weddings, private parties, fairs and other events where an audience is present.
• Pony parties where the ponies are not ridden (if ridden, you require a licence for hiring out horses).
• Businesses which keep animals for exhibition via electronic media, for example, animals used in films or TV.
• Businesses which train animals for exhibition, either to an audience or via electronic media.
• Exhibiting domestic animals in a circus.
• Any business based outside of England that brings in an animal for exhibition. These businesses must apply to the first authority in which they will be performing or where the animals are to be kept for the duration of their stay.

• Agents who organise for the exhibition of animals, but do not own them or train them themselves and thus have limited or no contact with the animals. Agents who arrange for the supply of animals for an exhibit should ensure all keepers and trainers are licensed and comply with the Regulations.
• Animal shows where animals are exhibited (e.g. Crufts, animal trade shows). If individual participants are in the business of exhibiting animals and receive a fee for doing so, they will need to have a licence, but the show itself does not require a licence as it is not responsible for the animals exhibited.
• Training or exhibiting animals for military or police purposes (i.e. training police dogs, demonstrations of police/military dogs at fairs).
• Registered charities that exhibit animals as part of their charitable work, unless such registered charities are in practice running this element of their operations as a commercial activity.
• Training or exhibiting animals for sporting purposes, for example, horse racing and greyhound racing.
• Exhibiting wild animals within a licensed circus.
• Licensed zoos.

Licence conditions

You must be able to meet the general and specific conditions before we will issue you with a licence.

Defra guidance

Applicants should read the applicable activity guidance documents and the local authority procedural guidance. Officers refer to these documents during the application process. The guidance sets out the higher standards, the risk rating and how they are applied. Compliance to the lowest risk rating (highest star rating) ensures a longer licence (up to three years) and better value for money. Note: The maximum star rating for a new licence is two years (three stars) and exhibition licenses are not star rated and are issued for three years.  

Documentation - required by Defra

If your documentation is correct, you will receive a lower risk rating and you are more likely to be compliant with the licence conditions. All the appropriate documentation is requested as attachments to the application form. Applicants should familiarise themselves with the required documentation in the Defra guidance.   

Officers use checklists to feedback on documentation requirements. Absence of any required documentation in most cases not result in the refusal of a licence.

Make an application