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45
PET ANIMALS ACT. 1951.
The Pet Animals Act, 1951, which came into operation on the 1st April,
1952, provides for a system of licensing and inspection by local authorities
of pet shops, the main purpose being the enforcement of the Protection of
Animals Acts in their application to the business of selling pets.
Under Section 1 of the Act, no person may keep a pet shop unless he
obtains a licence from the local authority on payment of a fee not exceeding
Ten Shillings.
In deciding whether to grant a licence, the local authority is
required to have regard to the need for securing that there will be provided
accommodation suitable as regards size, temperature, lighting, ventilation
and cleanliness; that there will be an adequate supply of suitable food
and drink; that the animals will not be sold at too early an age; that
all reasonable precautions will be taken to prevent the spread of infectious
diseases; and that appropriate steps will be taken in case of fire or
other emergency. The local authority has, however, a discretion to withhold
a licence on other grounds, and is given power to specify in the licence such
conditions as they think necessary or expedient in a particular case. Any
person aggrieved by the refusal of the local authority to grant such a
licence or by the conditions imposed in the licence may appeal to a court of
summary jurisdiction.
During the year four persons were licensed to keep pert shops in the
borough and in each case a fee of ten shillings was paid.