All dog home boarding businesses in Northern Ireland are operating illegally because no licence exists to allow them to trade lawfully.
The Department of Agriculture has confirmed the provision of all dog boarding requires a licence.
But the only licences available here are for kennels where dogs are kept in a purpose-built accommodation away from a family home.
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The legislation, which dates back to the 1970s, fails to cover home boarding pet care services where individuals charge to open up their home to allow other people’s dogs to stay.
Northern Ireland law does not distinguish between the premises but looks instead at the provision of payment for the accommodation.
And once money is involved, the boarding service must be able to provide a valid licence in order to trade, and a business trading without a licence, no matter how big or small, is committing an offence.
The news will come as a hammer blow to the hundreds of businesses, many of which have sprung up over lockdown, and others established for many years.
The decision now for home boarders is whether to stay open, continue to take bookings and risk investigation or exposure, or find an alternative way to look after people’s pets until legislation catches up with demand.
And dog owners who have booked their pets into one of the countless home boarding services ahead of the summer holidays, may find themselves wondering what to do next.
In addition many who bought a dog over lockdown while working from home or were furloughed, and have since returned to work, have turned to home-from-home day boarding for their dogs one or more days a week.
With an estimated 700,000 dogs now considered family members in Northern Ireland following a massive surge of pet purchases during the Covid crisis, the impact could be huge right across the year.
DAEAR say they are planning to examine how to address the issue "soon as resources permit" saying the 1970 legislation was not designed to regulate the boarding of dogs in home settings and no licence has been issued for any type of home boarding.
Connor Pinfold, 26, from South Belfast, runs Just Pawing About, and offers dog walking and pet home visits, but due to licensing laws he does not take dogs into his own home.
He explained: “Having moved to Northern Ireland from England I was aware of licensing laws there that were updated in 2018 when very strict regulations were introduced for home boarding in order to comply with licensing requirements.
"I found that the same laws just don’t exist here and the only boarding facilities that can be licensed are kennels which the majority of people I know don’t want for their dogs.
“In England the statutory guidance for local authorities allows people putting their dogs into home boarding to check the qualifications, experience, insurance and license associated with the business before they commit.
“It also means these businesses are regulated so there is come-back if it’s needed. And the people running the boarding businesses have clear rules and regulations to adhere to which also helps to protect them.
“Northern Ireland needs the same type of legislation and until it is introduced, home boarding, which I understand means paid boarding of dogs during the day and overnight, is not legal.
“Until DEARA’s statement today, the whole thing had felt like a bit of a grey area. Now we can see it in black and white. It’s going to cause a lot of upheaval for a lot of people.
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“DAERA were planning to modernise the legislation in Northern Ireland before lockdown but it was postponed and now we’ve thousands of home boarding businesses operating outside the law and unable to get licensed even if they wanted to.”
Information about the home boarding licensing issue was confirmed by DAERA after they started an investigation into a home boarding business where a puppy had been fitted with an anti-bark collar in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim.
Shiloh, a Cocker Spaniel, Poodle mix was fitted with the collar while in the care of Chez Purcell The Dog Hotel in April with his owner Maria Corrigan was on holiday with her family.
The business which has since closed its Facebook page, had been charging £30 per dog kept overnight and £25 for day boarders, and had at times up to 10 dogs at the property, including two of their own.
Speaking to Belfast Live, DAERA confirmed that they hope to revisit their postponed review of dog home boarding in a bid to modernise legislation along the same lines as England.
Until then, anyone operating a home boarding business and taking payment, will be considered to be doing so illegally and so committing an offence.
A local council source said: “The number of dogs bought during lockdown has created even more of a need for pet care, and most people just do not want to put their dogs in kennels in 2022.
“Home boarding has grown incredibly fast and is now under scrutiny from DAERA, the tax man and insurance companies, other agencies also are considering different aspects of the situation, including a change of use of a property from a home to a business.
“I think a lot of people will be shocked to discover these places are not operating legally.”
A spokeswoman for DAERA said: “Under current legislation [in Northern Ireland], the provision of dog boarding services at establishments in Northern Ireland requires a licence.
“However, the relevant legislation was made in the early 1970s and is not designed to regulate the boarding of dogs in home settings. No licence has, therefore, been issued for any type of home boarding.
“DAERA is aware of the measures that were taken in England in 2018 to modernise legislation and ensure that home boarding there requires a licence.
“It had commenced a review of Northern Ireland legislation on animal establishments with a view to introducing similar modernisations here.
“Unfortunately, the review was paused due to the pressure arising from the need to prepare for EU exit and the impact of the Covid pandemic. DAERA does, however, intend to revisit its review as soon as resources permit.
“In the meantime, all companion animals in Northern Ireland continue to be protected by the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, which provides enforcement agencies with substantial powers to act in situations where an animal is subject to unnecessary suffering in any setting.”
How home boarding legislation works in England
In England the home boarding licenses are also star rated and valid for up to three months. Those exempt are:
- veterinary practices where the housing is part of the treatment of the animal
- businesses that provide day care for dogs outside a home environment
- businesses that look after the dog within its normal place of residence, such as a dog sitter
- people who home board dogs and have a trading income below £1,000
- The licence must state the maximum number of dogs that can be home boarded at the premises. Undeclared numbers are a breach of the licence, especially if they’re not reflected in increased staffing levels.
Each dog from the same family unit must have access to a room where it can sleep, go to hide and be kept separate from other dogs. This is especially important when the proprietor is absent. Rooms must be high enough for a human adult to stand in.
And dogs cannot be home boarded in:
- a conservatory
- a bedroom in which the usual occupant is below the age of 16
- a garage, cellar or loft unless converted to a standard suitable for a human to live in
- a cupboard
- a balcony or
- an outside building, structure or shed.
Hallways and bathrooms can be used as designated rooms as long as space requirements, temperature and ventilation are met
If a barrier is used to divide a designated room, this can be used as multiple spaces as long as each space meets the conditions in this guidance, the dividing barriers must be:
- firmly fixed to the walls
- at least 1.83 metres high
- use wire mesh no larger than 50 millimetres by 50 millimetres
- each divided space must have a floor area of at least 6 square metres.
Other dogs in the household should be considered as part of the number of dogs that can be reasonably cared for under a home boarding licence.
The current law in NI falls in Section 8 of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972, which provides:
A person shall not keep an... animal boarding establishment except under the authority of a licence granted by the Ministry.
Section 12 Provides the definition: “animal boarding establishment” means any premises at which the business of providing accommodation for other people’s cats or dogs in return for payment is carried on.
Section 10 provides for Offences and penalties and states: Any person who keeps an unlicensed ...animal boarding establishment...shall be guilty of an offence.
