Animal health and welfare

There is a wide range of legislation in the UK designed to protect the health and welfare of both domesticated and wild animals. 

Our responsibilities 

We are responsible for: 

• inspecting farms, markets and slaughterhouses
• carrying out livestock vehicle checks 
• inspecting and sampling feeding stuff 
• responding to notifiable animal disease outbreaks

We also enforce animal health and welfare legislation by licensing:

• pet shops
• cat and dog boarding premises
• riding schools
• dog breeding establishments
• dangerous wild animals
• zoos 

Information for livestock keepers

For further advice relating to farm animal health and welfare, including your responsibilities as a livestock keeper, you can find lots of useful information on the business companion website.

Our animal welfare charter 

Our charter was introduced in 1998. It was created to reflect the concerns of local people who care about animal welfare and any cruel treatment, abuse, or neglect of animals.