To receive a report regarding proposed consultation on the adoption of new model conditions and guidance for dog boarding establishments.
Minutes:
The Committee had before it a report * from the Director of Corporate Affairs and Business Transformation providing Members with information regarding consultation on the adoption of new model conditions and guidance for dog boarding establishments
The Lead Licencing Officer explained that the Authority was responsible for licensing a number of dog boarding establishments and currently had a set of model conditions in place. These conditions set out the general expectations and requirements for premises and guided officers in carrying out inspections.
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) had recently issued new model conditions and guidance and this report sought agreement to consult with the trade, a relevant authorised vet and the general public on the adoption of these in 2017.
The authority had granted licences to 8 premises that offered a traditional dog boarding establishment to which the new model conditions would apply.
The current conditions in place, also produced by the CIEH, dated back to 1995.
The document was similar in concept to previous CIEH model conditions that had been adopted by the authority and covered areas such as the construction of the premises (from design to build), types of material that should be used, kennel size, areas for exercise, diets, interactions between dogs and general health and welfare issues.
The officer explained that at this point the Licencing Team wished to consult with those that were licenced, a vet duly authorised to undertake inspections under the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 as well as the public via our website, to get views on the proposed conditions. It was hoped that this would provide a better understanding of the implications of the new conditions before deciding firstly, whether or not to adopt or amend them and secondly, to establish a timeline for premises to comply (if they were to be adopted).
He informed the Committee that by consulting in early 2017 a clear agreement could be in place before animal boarding licences were required to be renewed as all licences expired at the end of the calendar year as a result of the legislation.
Discussion took place regarding:
· Dog day crèches and the increase in their popularity;
· Less traditional facilities that allowed dogs to mix rather than being contained within a kennel;
· An action plan that would be put in place to allow establishments time to reach the required standards;
· Establishments within Mid Devon that were not licenced and education that was required regarding this;
· The requirement to check both premises and licence holder;
· The frequency of inspections.
· There were no licences for day crèche facilities and this was something that Devon Authorities were working together to look into;
· The level of fees and the need for them to be cost neutral.
It was RESOLVED that;
a) The Licensing team consult the existing licensed trade; a relevant authorised Vet and the general public (via the Council’s website) on the new ‘Model Licence Conditions and Guidance for Dog Boarding Establishments 2016’ for a period of 12 weeks from January 2017.
b) Following the completion of this consultation a further report be brought to this Committee setting out the responses received and providing a recommendation of proposed action (i.e. to adopt, not adopt or amend the proposed conditions and guidance).
(Proposed by Cllr T G Hughes and seconded by Cllr J L Smith)
Note: - * Report previously circulated and attached to Minutes.
Supporting documents: