Apply for a dangerous wild animal licence

You need a licence to keep any animal classed as a dangerous wild animal, as identified in the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976:

Dangerous wild animals list: Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (Modification) (No.2) Order 2007 - on the Legislation UK website

Licence conditions vary depending on the species of animal, but all applicants will need to show that:

the animal will be receiving the appropriate nutrition
the environment is suitable
the animal is healthy and allowed to express normal behaviour

Before the Councils issue a licence you will also need to demonstrate that adequate security and a robust escape plan is in place, and that you know how to keep animals responsibly.

You must have the licence before you get the animal.

Licence costs:

For details of the charges please see:

Please note the licence fees listed do not include the cost of a veterinary inspection, which is required before a licence is issued.

Apply for a licence

If you would like to apply for a dangerous wild animal licence, please contact us for an application form.

View our public register of animal licences

You may also be interested in our public register of licences:

This link below takes you to our public registers online portal:

select 'Licence Register'
then in the 'Licence Description' field
then select 'Animal licensing'
then click 'search'
then scroll down the page to see the list, which is split up into the different types of animal licences:

View our public register of licences

Please note: The councils' public register data is in the public domain. It is the user's responsibility to ensure they are compliant with any relevant legislation when sharing or using data.

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