Published: Friday, 11th July 2025
Breaches of a licence to breed dogs resulted in two people operating in West Norfolk paying £7,750 in Fixed Penalty Notices.
Acting on information, council officers and police raided three addresses on 6 March. They found more than five times the number of animals the licensees were allowed to keep.
The council’s Licensing Manager, Marie Malt, said:
“The licensing of breeders is an important role for the council to ensure that dogs are looked after to the highest standard and are not subject to over-breeding.
“Part of our work involves the detection of unlicensed breeding but we also check that our breeders who do have licences are adhering to their conditions.
“The majority of our breeders do so conscientiously but where we hear that breaches have occurred we will investigate and take action.
“As the scale of these Fixed Penalty Notices shows, it is also something that is taken seriously in animal welfare legislation. I hope this sends a clear message that breeders must stick to the conditions in their licence.”
The breeders were licensed to keep four dogs but officers found 21 animals (not including puppies) at the premises and discovered evidence that at least one bitch was producing litters more frequently than allowed. They also found three litters of puppies.
In total, four notices were issued to two people under the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2022.
The notices were issued in the amount of £15,500 on 1 July. The breeders paid the discounted rate (for prompt payment) of £7,750 on 9 July.