UK Act of Parliament 2006 United Kingdom

Animal Welfare Act 2006

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At a glance

Enforced by

Trading Standards, APHA, DEFRA

What's here

20 compliance obligations, 8 practical guides · 4 journeys · 5 statutory instruments

Penalty landscape

13 of 20 obligations carry imprisonment (51 weeks). 5 carry different penalties and 2 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Any Person 16
  • Occupier 1
  • Director or Officer 1

Plus 2 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Direct — cites this Act

2 guides

Supporting — topic alignment

6 guides

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Occupiers also bound by 101 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Directors and Officers also bound by 224 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Schedules

s.001

Regulations under section 13

51 weeks imprisonment
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Licensing authorities must inspect premises before granting an animal activity licence Local authority
Browse 1 other Schedule — structural / supplementary
s.004

Unnecessary suffering

6 months imprisonment
  • Cause unnecessary suffering to a protected animal Any Person
s.005

Mutilation

5 years imprisonment
  • Carry out or permit prohibited mutilation of an animal Any Person
s.008

Fighting etc.

51 weeks imprisonment
  • Participate in or facilitate animal fighting Any Person
s.034

Disqualification

51 weeks imprisonment
  • Breach animal disqualification order Any Person
s.060

Crown application

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Crown employees must comply with animal welfare laws Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 52 other sections — procedural / definitional / commencement
Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

Trading Standards

Primary

Trading Standards (Local Authority)

Enforces consumer protection legislation including food labelling, weights and measures, product safety, and fair trading. Part of local authority structure. Investigates food …

APHA

Animal and Plant Health Agency

Safeguards animal and plant health for the benefit of people, environment and economy. Issues export health certificates, manages disease outbreaks, operates veterinary …

DEFRA

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries, and rural communities. Sets environmental policy and works with agencies …

Connected legislation

5 statutory instruments

These instruments amend, apply, or refer to this Act. They may not all create direct business obligations.

Explore more

Browse legislation

Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.

Regulators

Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.