Apply for a licence to sell animals as pets

You need a licence if your business sells animals as pets, or if they'll be resold as pets in the future.

What animals pet shops can keep

If you have a pet shop you can keep:

  • puppies and kittens
  • small animals such as rabbits, gerbils and hamsters
  • small domesticated birds and parrots species
  • other birds
  • reptiles
  • amphibians
  • fish

Find information about Lucy’s Law. This is a new law, introduced in April 2020. It means pets shops and commercial dealers are not allowed to sell puppies and kittens unless they have bred the animal themselves. 

Find more information about licences to sell pets from GOV.UK.

You can send an email to animalwelfare@brighton-hove.gov.uk or phone 01273 294 266.