Star Rating
Businesses will be awarded a star rating which will appear on their licence.
The risk and standards are assessed during an inspection of the animal activities licensed under the Regulations. This will determine the length of the licence and the star rating (with the exception of keeping or training animals for exhibition, where all licences are issued for 3 years).
Inspectors will use the following scoring matrix
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Scoring Matrix |
Welfare Standards |
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Minor Failings existing business that is failing to meet minimum standards |
Minimum Standards as laid down in the schedules* and guidance** |
Higher Standards as laid down in the guidance** |
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Risk |
Low Risk |
1 Star 1-year licence minimum 1 unannounced visit within 12-month period |
3 Star 2-year licence minimum 1 unannounced visit within 24-month period |
5 Star 3-year licence minimum 1 unannounced visit within 36-month period |
|
Higher Risk |
1 Star 1-year licence minimum 1 unannounced visit within 12-month period |
2 Star 1-year licence minimum 1 unannounced visit within 12-month period |
4 Star 2-year licence minimum 1 unannounced visit within 12-month period |
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**Guidance – see link below
Meeting the higher standards
For each activity, a number of higher standards have been determined. Meeting the higher standards is optional but this is the only way to gain a higher star rating. The higher standards are classified as:
- required
- optional
To qualify as meeting the higher standards, the business needs to achieve 100% of the required higher standards as well as a minimum of 50% (or more) of the optional higher standards.
DEFRA's Animal activities licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities can be found on the Gov.uk website.
Appeals
If you do not feel that the star rating reflects the animal welfare standards and risk level of the business, please feel free to contact the inspecting officer for an informal discussion on how the decision was made.
You can appeal against the decision by writing to the Lead Specialist – Community at the Council, but this must be done within 21 days (including weekends and bank holidays) following the issue of the licence. The Council will inform you of the outcome of the appeal within 21 days.
If you disagree with the outcome of the appeal, you can challenge this decision by means of judicial review.