The LAIA regulations require that the Secretary of State periodically reviews, and reports on, the regulation to determine if the original published objectives have been achieved, that they remain appropriate and if they do remain appropriate could they now be achieved in another way which involves a less onerous regulatory provision. These are the minimum requirements of a review.
The first review must be completed before 1st October 2023 and subsequently at a maximum interval of 5 years.
The Companion Animal Sector Council (CASC) will be carrying out a review of the regulations and guidance, where they are relevant to companion animals prior to submitting a report to DEFRA detailing our findings and recommendations.
As part of this process we are inviting any stakeholder to provide their experiences and opinions so that we can develop a detailed and accurate picture of the impact of the regulations and stakeholders’ proposals for ways that they could be improved. A stakeholder might be:
- An individual or business who sells live animals as pets commercially
- An individual or business who keeps or trains animals for exhibition (school visits, parties, handling sessions, etc.)
- A Local Authority employee who acts an inspector or administrator of the regulations
- A vet or other professional who acts and an inspector or advisor to a Local Authority in relation to the regulations
- Any individual or business who is not currently licensed but may become licensed in the future
- Any individual or business who is not licensed but would like to provide an opinion on the provision, scope or impact of the regulations. This might include pet owners, hobby breeders, animal rescue or rehoming organisations/charities/individuals or anyone else who is involved in the field of companion animals.
We welcome input from as many sources as possible so that we can develop an accurate picture.
You can provide your opinions by completing our online survey here. This allows different stakeholders to provide information relating directly to their own areas, as well as providing opportunities for wider comments. This is a detailed survey and will take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. We urge all stakeholders within the companion animal (pet) sector to take the time to complete the survey so that their views are recorded and reported to DEFRA. Government will only act on evidenced information and so it is essential that you provide your thoughts, opinions and experiences. If you don’t take this opportunity then there will not another for a further 5 years.
The survey will be open until Monday 21st November 2022