High Court hears legal challenge to grant of puppy farm licence

The High Court is this week (5-6 July) hearing a judicial review challenge over North Kesteven District Council’s decision to grant a licence to a puppy farm.

The legal challenge has been brought by a local animal charity Chancepixies, which argues that the council failed to fully note and give effect to the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

A High Court judge in May gave permission for the case to go to a full hearing, in which he noted the claim raised the question whether a commercial breeding establishment of such size could comply with the 2006 Act and the Code of Practice.

Law firm Bindmans, which is acting for the charity, said North Kesteven had licensed a large scale commercial breeding establishment permitting it to produce hundreds of puppies each year.

Bindmans said the licence, granted in October 2016, allows 200 breeding bitches and an unspecified number of stud dogs to be kept to produce repeated litters while living in converted outbuildings with minimal human contact. 

The charity is concerned about the conditions in which the dogs live, which it said amounted to a breach of the Act.

Chancepixies has previously brought judicial review proceedings against the council, which in January 2016 licensed the establishment to keep 200 breeding bitches.

But in March that year Chancepixies started court proceedings alleging a failure to take proper account of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Bindmans said those proceedings uncovered technical licensing flaws, and both the original licence and a further one the council sought to unlawfully issue in June 2016 were quashed last October by consent. North Kesteven though then issued a new licence.

North Kesteven said in a statement that it would defend its decision to issue the licence, describing the case as “a good opportunity to clarify the law on this particular matter”.

Mark Smulian