Under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, you must have a licence if you display wild animals to the public for 7 or more days in any 12-month period. This excludes circuses. This applies whether or not payment is received from the public.
Where an income of £1000 is achieved in any period of six or less days, a Licence for Keeping or Training Animals for Exhibition should be applied for where the public has interaction with a kept animal.
No licence is required for displays of six days or less and where annual income is below £1000; however a Dangerous Wild Animal Licence is required, where animals are scheduled, under the Dangerous Wild Animal Act 1976 are held.
There are circumstances where a Dispensation from requiring a Zoo Licence; or changing the requirements of a Zoo Licence Inspection may be appropriate. Please only apply for a Dispensation following consultation with our Inspectors. It is possible that you may require a Zoo Licence Dispensation to work in conjunction with a Licence for Keeping or Training Animals for Exhibition.
We advise submitting an enquiry, either to [email protected] or via 01305 251010, for advice prior to any dispensation application.
The fee for a new licence, to renew a licence or for a 3 yearly periodic inspection is £590 plus vet fees.
A licence will not be granted until fees are paid in full. If no licence is granted only the licence fee will be refunded.
Any activities relating to the same business that operate at different locations will require individual licences. If you already have a licence and you want to start an activity at an additional location from that stated on your existing licence, a new premises application and full fee must be submitted.
If approved, your licence ensures:
Your licence will include mandatory conditions such as:
Participate in conservation activities (research, breeding, training).
We must receive a completed application at least two months before it can be processed. This ensures compliance with the statutory two-month notice of intent and allows sufficient time for you to publish the required advertisements.
At the point of submission a ‘Notice of Intent’ for the application for a zoo licence must be advertised in one local newspaper and one national newspaper.
The published notice must identify the location of the zoo and state that the Notice of Intent is available to be inspected at the Council offices at County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester DT1 1UZ.
You should read the:
You will need the following to complete this application:
You will need to register for an account on our licencing website before you can apply.
If you already have an account, you can login and apply.
You will be prompted to pay for your permit at the end of this application.
Once the Notice of Intent period has elapsed we will progress your licence application in full.
The application will be reviewed and will take into consideration any comments made during the Notice of Intent period. An inspection will then follow with appropriate DEFRA veterinary support. The cost of which will be forwarded to the applicant.
You must inform us of any changes that have been made to your application and provide details during the intention notice period.
They will assess:
Zoo location and layout
Species and numbers of animals
Staffing and visitor details
Conservation plans
If approved, your licence will be issued, and a paper copy will be sent to you.
Your licence must be displayed publicly at every entrance to the premises and, on any website, used for your business.
Unlike other animal activity licences, Zoos do not currently use the star rating system.
However, inspections still assess welfare standards and compliance.
Licence holders should submit a renewal application no less than 10 weeks before the expiry date of their current licence. This allows sufficient time for inspections and processing to ensure continuity of the licence. If you do not wish to renew your licence, please let us know by emailing [email protected]
