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| PET GAZETTE | AQUATIC
ANIMALS ACTIVITIES LICENSE:
HOW THE LEGISLATION CAN
AFFECT YOUR TRADE
By Simon Strode, key account manager, Tetra UK
W
hen it comes to animal
welfare in the UK, we
are very fortunate to live
in a country that has
very high standards.
Recently, legislation has
been reformed to protect our animals further,
which in turn protects the industry that we
work in. Since 1 October 2018, any business
in England which commercially trades live
animals requires an Animals Activities License
(AAL) from their local authority. This comes
as trade bodies, such as OATA (Ornamental
Aquatic Trade Association), have worked
hard to ensure that fish are treated fairly in
comparison to other animals that are traded
in-store.
Similar to our philosophy in meeting the
needs of fish as well of those of aquarium
owners, this new legislation should help
improve the standards across the fish keeping
category and hopefully aid in bringing in new
users to the hobby.
For retailers, the AAL helps to remove past
issues that many stores have experienced,
such as inconsistent inspections across
different authorities, ensuring a more
professional industry as a result and a level
playing field for stores. In the long term, this
can only be good for both the welfare of the
fish and for the longevity of our industry.
THE ANIMALS ACTIVITIES
LICENSE DECODED
The AAL guidance is a lengthy document, to
some it may at first seem a bit daunting, so
let’s look at some of the more specific points
that a retailer selling fish would need to be
aware of.
Most relevant to aquatics are the following
sections;
• Part A – General Conditions
• P
art B – Specific Conditions:
Selling animals as pets
• Part L – Fish
Within the guidance document, Part L
relates specifically to fish. Many retailers can
rest assured that the guidance here is what
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they will no doubt already be doing, and to
the experienced retailer none of this should
come as too much of a shock.
As the AAL is now firmly in force, it’s a good
idea to encourage your colleagues to have
knowledge of what is expected and ask them
to add any input as to how you may be able
to accommodate any of the points you don’t
already adhere to or have as part of your own
business requirement.
HOW WILL THE NEW
REGULATIONS AFFECT THE
AQUATICS INDUSTRY?
For all pet retailers, there are some key points
to be aware of to help you pass inspection
and ensure you are adhering to the new
regulations. These include:
Register of animals - An aquatic business
is now required to show documentation of
the fish coming in out via your premises.
This can be shown by way of invoice from
your suppliers or till receipts for your sales of
livestock to customers. It’s important to add
that every single fish by species will not be
required here, just the sub categories such
as Tropical Freshwater, Coldwater, Tropical
Marine would suffice with the number sold.
Aftercare information required – Aftercare
now needs to be provided by law to
encourage responsible pet ownership.
Information to support retailers is now
readily available in the aquatics industry,
with manufacturers and OATA offering many
sources for this. It’s important to ensure this is
also clearly displayed and readily available
for customers to take home, while being
applicable to the fish in your store.
Staff training - It now needs to be
demonstrated that your business has
a training policy in place, and your
staff and colleagues will need to show
industry-recognised qualification(s) and/or
demonstrate suitable experience/training
when it comes to trading fish.
Water quality - One of the big differences
in the AAL is the requirement to regularly
check water quality and record all test results
to ensure that fish are being kept in safe
environments. All water quality parameters
are available in the guidance document.
The importance of light – Studies have
shown that light is now very important to fish
welfare and, where possible, fish should be
maintained on an appropriate photo period
(day/night cycle). This is easy enough for
many of the marine aquariums that tend to
have specific lighting that changes throughout
the day, however, can be a little more difficult
for older tropical systems in enclosed fish
houses. Retailers shouldn’t worry thought as
these aren’t too hard to incorporate a solution
using natural light for gradual changes.
Feeding – Already a very important part of
animal welfare, license holders must now
have a clear understanding of the nutritional
requirements of the categories of fish they
are selling and what they should advise the
owners on. With so many species, this is very
important and while there are many high
quality and complete diets out there, including
it’s good to ensure the customers are aware
of the specific benefits of more specialist diets.
With the new AAL being a very lengthy
document that can prove daunting to
smaller or less experienced retailers, my
main piece of advice would be to become
an OATA member. OATA have several tools
in place to help our members meet the new
requirements, including:
• F ree advice and downloadable templates
to help members develop the required
standard operating procedures and meet
the recording requirements.
• P
rimary Authority partnership used to
develop consistent advice for members
to follow, especially if members are
experiencing difficulties in obtaining a
licence.
• O
ATA training courses will help to ensure
businesses have well qualified and
knowledgeable staff. Members benefit from
reduced costs for these courses.
Also, guidance is available from the
Department of Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (DEFRA) relating to the sale of pets and
outlines what a business must demonstrate
during an inspection.
December 2018