Guildford's licensing team took Platinum at the RSPCA PawPrints Awards 2026, an eighth year running. Here are the 11 activities that need a licence.

Guildford Borough Council’s licensing team has won a Platinum Award in Animal Activities Licensing at the RSPCA PawPrints Awards 2026. It is the eighth year running the team has taken the award, which the RSPCA gives for sustained excellence rather than a single year’s work (Guildford Borough Council, 16 September 2026).

The PawPrints scheme judges councils, housing providers and emergency services on five separate categories: stray dog services, animal activity licensing, housing policy, contingency and emergency planning, and kennelled dog welfare. Guildford’s award is in the licensing category, which covers the inspection of businesses that keep, breed, sell or board animals.

Platinum is not a one-off prize. The council’s own explanation of the scheme is that Platinum goes to organisations that have taken gold in a single category for five or more consecutive years (Guildford Borough Council). The awards have run since 2008 and are the only scheme in England and Wales aimed specifically at animal welfare in local public services (RSPCA).

Cllr Merel Rehorst-Smith, lead councillor for regulatory services, said: “Receiving the award for the eighth-year running is a fantastic achievement. It’s a real testament to the dedication and expertise of our team, showing how they go above and beyond in their role to protect animals and legitimate businesses.”

Lee Gingell, the RSPCA’s public affairs manager for local government, said: “Local public services have an important role in protecting animals and supporting the people who care for them. PawPrints celebrates this work and shares effective practice to help protect, promote and improve animal welfare, and create a better world for every kind.”

What actually needs a licence

The useful part of this, for anyone who owns an animal or is thinking of buying one, is the list. Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, and the separate rules for zoos, dangerous wild animals and primates, Guildford Borough Council says these activities need a licence from it:

  • boarding dogs in your home
  • providing day care for dogs
  • boarding dogs in kennels
  • boarding cats
  • selling animals as pets
  • breeding dogs
  • hiring out horses
  • keeping a zoo
  • keeping a dangerous wild animal, as defined by a schedule in the Act
  • keeping, or training animals for, exhibition
  • keeping primates

That is eleven activities, and the ones people most often get caught out by are the first two. A home boarder and a dog day care business both need a licence, whatever the scale.

What it means for you

  • If you are buying a puppy or a kitten, ask to see the licence. A breeder selling dogs commercially, and anyone selling animals as pets, must be licensed by the council. The council specifically names unlicensed dog boarding and puppy sales as the sort of activity its team enforces against.
  • If you are booking boarding or day care, the same applies. Licensed businesses are inspected regularly, and the council says operators must have relevant experience or qualifications in looking after pets.
  • If something looks wrong, tell the council. Cllr Rehorst-Smith said: “We encourage residents to contact us if they have concerns about an animal-related business that may be operating without the necessary licence.” Reports go through the council’s animal licensing pages.
  • Check the register before you pay. The council runs a searchable licence register at mylicencegbc.guildford.gov.uk. It says the register covers every licence issued in the borough under the 2018 Regulations.

One practical caveat worth knowing: Guildford Borough Council is abolished on 1 April 2027 and its functions pass to the new West Surrey Council, so the licensing contact details above will change at some point in the next year. Licences themselves are issued under national regulations and do not lapse because a council is reorganised.

Local pet shops, groomers, kennels and vets in the borough are listed in our Guildford business directory.

The sources

Checked against Guildford Borough Council’s own pages on 21 September 2026.