{"topic_id":"gb_dog_breeding_licensing","category":"gb-animal-licensing","context":"---\ntopic_id: gb_dog_breeding_licensing\ncategory: gb-animal-licensing\ntitle: \"England dog-breeding licensing (Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018; litter/age limits)\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"UK Government (DEFRA / APHA) — 'England dog-breeding licensing (Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018; litter/age limits)' (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities/dog-breeding-licensing-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities), landed 2026-08-13\"\nsource_file: pdf-parsed/gov-uk-licensing/dog_breeding.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-08-13\ntokens_estimated: 410\nverified: true\nverification: c1_substring\nsource_document: \"England dog-breeding licensing (Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018; litter/age limits)\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"UK Government (DEFRA / APHA)\"\n  title: \"England dog-breeding licensing (Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018; litter/age limits)\"\n  url: \"https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities/dog-breeding-licensing-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-13\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"official web page\"\n  needs_review: false\nlicense: open_government_licence_v3\n---\n\nEngland's statutory guidance for local authority inspectors on licensing dog-breeding businesses, under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.\n\n## Claims (verified C1 substrings of source_file)\n- `This guidance is for local authority inspectors in England.`\n- `You should read it alongside the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 ( LAIA ).`\n- `They must have a licence, if they do either or both of the following: breeding 3 or more litters of puppies in any 12-month period - unless they can prove that none of the puppies have been sold as puppies or adults breeding dogs and advertising a business of selling dogs - as defined under the business test Businesses need a licence regardless of the number of litters produced .`\n- `Required higher standards for protecting dogs from pain, suffering, injury and disease All bitches must be at least 18 months old before they are used for mating.`\n- `A bitch must not be mated if she is 8 years of age or older.`\n- `A bitch must not give birth to more than four litters of puppies in total.`\n- `Breeders must not permit mating of any bitch beyond her sixth litter.`\n- `Licence holders must not breed from stock which shows fear or aggression.`\n- `Bitches that have had 2 litters delivered by caesarean section must not be bred from.`\n- `Puppies cannot be walked so will require at least 4 opportunities to engage in play and human interaction during the day.`\n- `A minimum of a week’s supply of the puppies’ current diet must be included when they go to their new home.`\n","sources":["UK Government — England dog-breeding licensing (Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018; litter/age limits) (retrieved 2026-08-13)"],"source":{"authority":"UK Government","title":"England dog-breeding licensing (Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018; litter/age limits)","url":"https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities/dog-breeding-licensing-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities","retrieved":"2026-08-13","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"England dog-breeding licensing (Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018; litter/age limits)","verification_file":"pdf-parsed/gov-uk-licensing/dog_breeding.txt"},"source_document":"England dog-breeding licensing (Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018; litter/age limits)","source_file":"pdf-parsed/gov-uk-licensing/dog_breeding.txt","trust":{"authority_tier":"ungraded","fidelity":"verbatim","license":"open_government_licence_v3","display_grade":"pending"},"tokens_estimated":410,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}