Give notice of intention to apply for a zoo licence
Information about zoo licences is under running a zoo.
How to apply
At least two months before you can apply for a zoo licence, the law requires that you must give us notice of your intention to apply. You can do this online.
In the notice you must give details about:
- where the zoo will be
- what kind of animals you're going to keep and how many
- how you'll house and care for the animals
- staff numbers and what they'll be doing
- expected visitor and vehicle numbers
- zoo entrance and exit points
- how you'll meet conservation conditions
At the same time, you are required to:
- publish notice that you're intending to apply in at least one local and one national newspaper.
- display the notice at the planned zoo site
Start the journey
More info about the journey
You will also need to upload a detailed plan of the zoo. This must show the proposed layout of the site.
You will need to send us a copy of the local newspaper and the national newspaper that your notice is displayed in.
We will visit the zoo to check that the notices are displayed correctly on site.
We will also ask for and consider comments from the police and fire authorities, members of the public and a national institution concerned with the operation of zoos in the UK.
When your notices have been displayed for at least two months you can then make an application for a zoo licence.
What you can do if you haven't heard from us
You won't hear from us with any decision about your notice of intention. We can only make a decision about your licence once we've received your application for a zoo licence. You can apply for this when two months have passed since you gave us your notice of intention. Please telephone or email us at any time if you have any questions.