Editorial: July 4, 2025

On July 1, the Royal Kennel Club of England presented their position to the House of Commons on the failures of the current licensing of dog breeders in their country. With permission, their statement is reprinted below.

THE KENNEL CLUB LAUNCHES REPORT HIGHLIGHTING FAILURES OF DOG BREEDING LICENSING REGULATIONS

A new report by The Kennel Club, which is being launched today in the House of Commons, calls for an urgent review of the current dog breeding licensing regulations, which are having a significant impact on both responsible breeders, as well as buyers finding responsibly bred, healthy puppies.

The report also highlights that many responsible breeders are being discouraged from breeding, following the introduction of The Licensing of Activities Involving Animals Regulations 2018, which has proven to be particularly burdensome for low-volume, high-welfare breeders. This deterrent is leaving a void in the market which is being exploited by puppy farmers and rogue sellers, who simply breed for profit without any regard for health or welfare, or the puppy’s future.

Finding a puppy to suit a potential dog owners’ lifestyle takes a lot of time and dedication yet statistics show, year on year, that many aren’t doing the appropriate research. A quarter of dog owners only spend two hours or less researching their puppy purchase decision, according to research last year carried out by The Kennel Club as part of its Be Puppywise campaign, while two-fifths of owners (40%) fear they bought from a puppy farm after spending little time researching.

A dog breeding licence is required if someone breeds three or more litters in any 12-month period, and/or breeds dogs and advertises a business of selling dogs. However, with the many dependents and unknowns involved, the costs of breeding a litter nearly always outstrips the income and, as such, many breeders, particularly those operating on a smaller scale who are primarily driven by a deep commitment to the health and welfare of the dogs, are being unfairly penalised, and discouraged from breeding, with detrimental consequences for puppy buyers.

The report details a Freedom of Information request project, carried out by The Kennel Club, which found that not only are two-thirds of licences being issued to those low-volume home breeders — such as those breeding one to two litters a year — as opposed to commercial large-scale breeders, but that the costs of such licences vary hugely, from £66 for a three-year licence, to over £1,500 for a one-year licence. 

As well as the damaging effects to the provision of healthy, well-bred puppies, the overall impact on the marketplace from these stringent regulations is significant and could see prices for puppies surging and therefore attracting more inexperienced breeders who want to breed for profit, or driving the import of puppies from overseas to meet demand in the UK, which may be subject to lower welfare standards. Recent research, carried out by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), identified the supply of well-bred puppies in the UK as a major issue in canine health and welfare.