A new study by The Dogs Business website reveals significant differences in the license fees charged to dog walking businesses and pet shops across the UK. The research compiled data in August 2023 from over 300 councils and local authorities on their fees for 2023/24.
See the complete 2023 pet fees and licence charges data here.
Kenneling, Day Care and Boarding Charges
The research compiled data on license fees for related services like kenneling, dog day care, boarding franchises, and home boarding.
Kenneling fees ranged from £69 in certain Scottish councils up to £1,107 charged by Herefordshire – one of the largest spreads seen.
Day care licensing displayed a similar spread from £69 to £1,505 in Ceredigion, Wales.
Home boarding and boarding franchise fees sat in the middle with typical costs of £200-400. The most expensive regions were down south with Guildford charging over £999.
As with pet shops, London boroughs and southern England councils again tended to charge the highest license fees across these categories.
Northern Scotland was the most affordable area for related dog services like boarding. But England showed widespread differences in costs even between neighbouring councils.
The data illustrates the need for greater consistency in how local authorities calculate their license fees for pet businesses. With such a range, location plays an outsized role in overhead expenses like licensing. National standards could help create fairer operating conditions.
Kenneling Licence Fees
| Nation | Highest Fee | Lowest Fee | Average Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £1,107 (Herefordshire) | £69 (Various councils) | £340 |
| Wales | £749 (Pembrokeshire) | £120 (Rhondda Cynon Taf) | £435 |
| Scotland | £700 (Dumfries and Galloway) | £69 (Various councils) | £165 |
| Northern Ireland | £350 (Various councils) | N/A | £350 |
Table showing the highest, lowest, and average kenneling license costs for each nation.
Day Care Licence Fees
| Nation | Highest Fee | Lowest Fee | Average Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £1,505 (Ceredigion) | £69 (Various councils) | £340 |
| Wales | £1,505 (Ceredigion) | £159 (Swansea) | £326 |
| Scotland | £467 (West Dunbartonshire) | £69 (Various councils) | £160 |
| Northern Ireland | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Table showing the highest, lowest, and average day care license costs for each nation.
Home Boarding Licence Fees
| Nation | Highest Fee | Lowest Fee | Average Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £1,030 (Guildford) | £65 (Hull) | £340 |
| Wales | £597 (Pembrokeshire) | £109 (Newport) | £247 |
| Scotland | £467 (West Dunbartonshire) | £69 (Various councils) | £138 |
| Northern Ireland | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Table showing the highest, lowest, and average Home Boarding (both home based and franchise) license costs for each nation.
Breeding Establishment Licensing
The final category covered by the research was breeding establishment licensing. This applies to dog breeders producing multiple litters per year as a business.
Fees showed the full spectrum from £57 per year in Wakefield up to £1,105 charged by Tonbridge and Malling. The average across the UK was approximately £300.
Unlike other categories, breeding license costs did not show strong regional patterns. Expensive and cheaper councils were intermixed across the UK.
The breeding data does illustrate how costs can rapidly escalate for larger operations. Many councils charged higher fees for facilities with over 10-20 breeding dogs.
| Nation | Highest Fee | Lowest Fee | Average Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £1,105 (Tonbridge and Malling) | £57 (Wakefield) | £340 |
| Wales | £700 (Carmarthenshire) | £120 (Rhondda Cynon Taf) | £350 |
| Scotland | £700 (Dumfries and Galloway) | £69 (Various councils) | £224 |
| Northern Ireland | £350 (Various councils) | N/A | £350 |
Table showing the highest, lowest, and average dog breeding license costs for each nation.
Pet Shop License Costs
Pet shop licensing displayed less dramatic differences but still a nearly four-fold spread between the highest and lowest fees uncovered by the research.
The lowest fees were around £100-£150 in parts of Scotland. The highest charges reached up to £550 in councils like Medway and Fife. England and Wales were largely in a narrower band of £200-300 for pet shop licensing.
As with dog walking, London boroughs tended to charge higher than average fees while northern regions of England had lower costs. Northern Ireland pet shop fees could not be obtained from council websites and required individual inquiries.
| Nation | Highest Fee | Lowest Fee | Average Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £1,030 (Bexley) | £65 (Hull) | £290 |
| Wales | £383 (Cardiff) | £109 (Newport) | £164 |
| Scotland | £467 (West Dunbartonshire) | £69 (Various councils) | £147 |
| Northern Ireland | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Dog Walking Fees
For dog walking businesses there are very fee licences so don’t have enough data to analyse.
Methodology
Data was taken from local authority websites. Presentation and classification of rates varies enormously from site to site so we have endeavored to standardize where possible. Some charge separate vet costs, initial fees etc. and to be consistent we used the renewal fees. If there are multiple components we have tried to calculate the total annual cost after year one excl. vets fees. Where charges varied for quantity (eg dog kennels accepting 1-5 dogs, 6-20 dogs, etc) we have taken the highest fee payable and actual charges may be lower for smaller numbers of dogs.
