Animal Welfare Licensed Premises Complaints

Erewash Borough Council issue licences that cover:

  • Boarding dogs and/or cats or offer day care for dogs
  • Breeding of dogs
  • Selling animals as pets
  • Hiring horses for riding
  • Exhibiting animals

Each licence has specific conditions that the operator is required to meet before being granted a licence.  There is also a star rating system that reflects how well the operator meets the licence conditions. More details can be found on our Animal Welfare Licence page.

The licence requirements are complex and there are circumstances where the activity falls ‘out of scope’ of requiring a licence.

Animal licensing complaints

You can let us know if you have concerns about a licenced animal business, or think that someone is carrying out an activity without a licence. We can only investigate issues that are covered by a licence condition or if they are operating without a licence. 

If you consider that an unlicensed activity is taking place then we need evidence of that the activity such as photographs, links to web pages which clearly indicate breeding and selling of dogs, animals being advertised for sale or advertising the service of boarding or horse riding. In some circumstances we may need a signed witness statement that can be used in court if necessary.

You can report an animal establishment via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by contacting 0115 907 2244.

Consumer Complaint

In the case of boarding, dog breeding or pet sale licences, we cannot seek compensation for any vet fees or outlay regarding the animal itself.  If this is the nature of your complaint then we would always advise that you first contact the trader or you can contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service

Animal Welfare Complaints

A wide range of different organisations respond to calls from members of the public about different animal welfare problems and it can be very confusing to know who to report different problems to.

The guide on the Who Does What page shows who to contact so that the animal welfare issues can be addressed by the relevant organisation