Introduce Licensing and Regulation for Dog and Cat Rescues to Protect Welfare
This petition gathered 109,647 signatures between 8 April 2025 and 8 October 2025, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 10 July 2025. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 26 January 2026.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Introduce Licensing and Regulation for Dog and Cat Rescues to Protect Welfare
Many UK animal rescues operate without clear legal oversight, creating opportunities for unethical practices. Some rescues have been linked to supporting irresponsible breeding, neglecting animals, or misusing public donations.
Without enforceable standards, there is a risk that animals suffer in poor conditions, and public trust is undermined. We call on the Government to introduce mandatory licensing and regular inspections to ensure rescues operate transparently and uphold high welfare standards. Regulation is essential to prevent cruelty, improve accountability, and ensure all rescued animals receive proper care.
By introducing clear legal requirements, the Government can safeguard animal welfare, protect public confidence in rescues, and prevent organizations from operating irresponsibly.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 10 July 2025; the petitions site lists the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as responsible. Its summary:
Animal rescue organisations must meet existing statutory welfare requirements. Moving forward, the Government is developing an animal welfare strategy and will outline more detail in due course.
The response in full:
The Government appreciates the important work that responsible animal sanctuaries as well as rescue and rehoming organisations do, often on a voluntary basis, to ensure that animals taken into the care of these organisations are offered the opportunity of a forever home.
There are existing protections under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, whereby any person responsible for an animal, whether on a permanent or temporary basis, has a duty to ensure the welfare of the animals in their care. Companion animal rescue and rehoming organisations in England and Wales must therefore comply with statutory welfare requirements set out in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Therefore, the Department encourages individuals to report any concerns regarding whether these standards are being met to the relevant local authority, which has powers to investigate.
Members of the public can also check if the rescue centre they use is a member of the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes, which has set clear standards for animal assessments, neutering and rehoming procedures that all members adhere to.
More broadly, the Department is developing an overarching approach to animal welfare and, as part of this, is actively considering the animal welfare protections in place in rescue and rehoming centres, including whether there is a need for additional guidance or regulation. The Department has also initiated a series of meetings with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of this wider work. We will be outlining more detail in due course.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/718660)
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Basildon and Billericay, with 33.7 signatures per 1,000 electors (2,587 in all).
108,906 of the signatures were from the UK and 741 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basildon and Billericay | 2,587 | 76,873 | 33.7 |
| Castle Point | 1,507 | 71,026 | 21.2 |
| Rayleigh and Wickford | 1,526 | 76,576 | 19.9 |
| Maldon | 1,378 | 78,282 | 17.6 |
| South Basildon and East Thurrock | 1,006 | 72,673 | 13.8 |
| Brentwood and Ongar | 942 | 75,352 | 12.5 |
| Southend West and Leigh | 736 | 75,154 | 9.8 |
| Southend East and Rochford | 647 | 70,217 | 9.2 |
| Chelmsford | 698 | 76,970 | 9.1 |
| Witham | 589 | 78,991 | 7.5 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| East of England | 23,568 |
| South East | 16,575 |
| South West | 10,502 |
| North West | 9,540 |
| London | 8,732 |
| East Midlands | 7,872 |
| West Midlands | 7,853 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 7,496 |
| Wales | 5,762 |
| Scotland | 4,657 |
| North East | 3,818 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,890 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 26 January 2026. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/718660.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
2efb09b83cf5019f… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.