PawPrints Award
We were given a Gold Award for achievements in protecting and promoting the welfare of all animals involved in licensable activities, as well as enforcing legislation and having a clear process to monitor and investigate unlicensed activities.
As part of their work our Animal Licensing team inspects premises that are required by law to hold a licence – from doggy day care to people selling animals as pets, and even zoos! This means that residents can know they are buying a pet from a reliable source and feel reassured that they are leaving their animals for day care or boarding in a safe place.
Councillor Ellen Neville, Cabinet member for Licensing said:
This is the first PawPrints award the council has received and it is an achievement to be proud of. Residents may not know the council is responsible for animal licensing but it is an important activity and matters to anyone who cares about animal welfare. If you are leaving your pet, whether it’s for the day or overnight, you want the reassurance of knowing they are in safe hands.
Lee Gingell, the RSPCA’s Public Affairs Manager for Local Government, said:
Despite the challenging situation for all local authorities and public bodies across the country, we’re thrilled to see Tunbridge Wells Borough Council pick up the RSPCA’s Animal Activity Licensing (Gold) PawPrints Award.
It’s a tough time for pet owners as the cost of living crisis continues, a tough time too for local authorities and public bodies as demands increase and resources decline. In the face of these challenges, we’re proud to award Tunbridge Wells Borough Council as part of the PawPrints Awards for implementing and promoting schemes and policies that protect and promote animal welfare, and support pet owners - now more important than ever.
There’s so much great work that staff do behind the scenes. Too often, their dedication, commitment, and inspirational work goes unsung and doesn’t get the credit it deserves.
PawPrints is all about shouting from the rooftops; recognising individuals and teams and celebrating and promoting best practice. We’re delighted to showcase Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and their work to protect and promote animal welfare; going above and beyond for animals and looking way past statutory minimums because it’s the right thing to do - for humans and animals.
Find out the rating of animal premises
When the council awards a licence to animal premises it is given with a star rating according to how closely the premises is complying with the national legislation. We keep registers of all licensed premises in the borough and you can see these and the star ratings on our animal licensing register page.
