Thought I'd post details of the documentation required for legal snake dancing in the UK:
1 - ANIMAL PERFORMANCE LICENSE
It is against the law for anyone to train or exhibit a performing animal unless they are registered under the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925. The Act is designed to cover using animals in stage performances such as:
* circuses;
* as part of an exhibition; or
* educational programme;
even where there is no charge for the performance.
Once you've got your registration you don't need to renew it.
The price of this may vary depending on your location and your council - mine is £46.25 and this payment is one-off (does not require renewal). For the application form you need to go to your local council website and search for 'Performing Animals Application' and you should find an Adobe Acrobat application form. This just needs the details filling in and you then post it with a cheque for the payment.
Very simple and there's no excuse not to have one.
2 - UK ANIMAL TRANSPORTATION LICENSE
This has been a legal requirement from 5th January 2007 - not only for breeders, but anyone transporting animals for profit within the UK. However, recently the regulations were altered to include people transporting animals for ANY kind of economic gain (which includes performers paid for the work, even if you only get travel expenses).
Individuals transporting pets they own are not required to have one (although this is aimed more at things like dogs & transporting to vets). But breeders taking snakes to buyers, or to reptile shows MUST have a licence.
Originally aimed at farmers and livestock to improve transport conditions, it has now been extended to all animals except insects/bugs.
Their main concern is that you have a road-worthy vehicle (although this is more important for farmers, you should be fine as long as you've passed your MOT), and that the animal is properly transported in suitable conditions. This means not only heatpads... but WATER. Obviously you cannot drive around with a water bowl full... so you must document all rest stops on your journey and log the times you OFFER water... it doesn't matter if the snake doesn't want any, but it must be offered.
Hopefully the majority of us would never get checked, but spot checks are now being conducted for UK drivers going in and out of most reptile shows, and also those who travel to Germany for the Hamm reptile shows. It is best to have your back covered with a license and good paperwork to show you are a responsible owner... or you risk having your snake(s) confiscated.
The good news - the license is FREE. Go to www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/w...tation.htm
There are 2 application forms, one for journeys up to 8 hours, one for any length and over 8 hours. This form needs to be posted to the State Veterinary Service.
It is also worth downloading the Animal Transport Certificate. This should be printed for each journey you do and kept with the animal - it's a handy log for you to record all details of the journey and when you offer water.
1 - ANIMAL PERFORMANCE LICENSE
It is against the law for anyone to train or exhibit a performing animal unless they are registered under the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925. The Act is designed to cover using animals in stage performances such as:
* circuses;
* as part of an exhibition; or
* educational programme;
even where there is no charge for the performance.
Once you've got your registration you don't need to renew it.
The price of this may vary depending on your location and your council - mine is £46.25 and this payment is one-off (does not require renewal). For the application form you need to go to your local council website and search for 'Performing Animals Application' and you should find an Adobe Acrobat application form. This just needs the details filling in and you then post it with a cheque for the payment.
Very simple and there's no excuse not to have one.
2 - UK ANIMAL TRANSPORTATION LICENSE
This has been a legal requirement from 5th January 2007 - not only for breeders, but anyone transporting animals for profit within the UK. However, recently the regulations were altered to include people transporting animals for ANY kind of economic gain (which includes performers paid for the work, even if you only get travel expenses).
Individuals transporting pets they own are not required to have one (although this is aimed more at things like dogs & transporting to vets). But breeders taking snakes to buyers, or to reptile shows MUST have a licence.
Originally aimed at farmers and livestock to improve transport conditions, it has now been extended to all animals except insects/bugs.
Their main concern is that you have a road-worthy vehicle (although this is more important for farmers, you should be fine as long as you've passed your MOT), and that the animal is properly transported in suitable conditions. This means not only heatpads... but WATER. Obviously you cannot drive around with a water bowl full... so you must document all rest stops on your journey and log the times you OFFER water... it doesn't matter if the snake doesn't want any, but it must be offered.
Hopefully the majority of us would never get checked, but spot checks are now being conducted for UK drivers going in and out of most reptile shows, and also those who travel to Germany for the Hamm reptile shows. It is best to have your back covered with a license and good paperwork to show you are a responsible owner... or you risk having your snake(s) confiscated.
The good news - the license is FREE. Go to www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/w...tation.htm
There are 2 application forms, one for journeys up to 8 hours, one for any length and over 8 hours. This form needs to be posted to the State Veterinary Service.
It is also worth downloading the Animal Transport Certificate. This should be printed for each journey you do and kept with the animal - it's a handy log for you to record all details of the journey and when you offer water.
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United Kingdom
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Re: UK Snake Performance rules & regs
Sat, April 19, 2008 - 4:30 PMHi Asha,
Thank you so much for this info! Wow, Europeans are so much more reasonable all around in your "rules & regulations" than we are here in the good ole fearful USA. Jules Sylvester, a reptile handler for movies told me he far prefers traveling and being with his snakes anywhere in the EU to the US. And I have to agree. More and more I am concerned about having my car randomly searched while the snakes are tucked safely in their travel container which is a modified beer cooler. Once, I had to put several bags of popcorn in the top of the cooler in order to get it on a bus. They did search that time, but saw the popcorn and that convinced 'em. And my days of sneaking a snake onto a plane as a pregnant woman are long over. But it's a great story to share over a cuppa tea.
I do have a question: Traveling from the UK to the rest of Europe: Are those licenses enough?
I have a very strong desire to bring my snake priestessing to all of the (secluded) earth power spots and the UK is on the list. It may not be this year unfortunately. To make it happen in a humane way, I need to find the right family in the EU to donate a young Boa to as our shared animal companion. They would have the snake year around and I would visit and travel awhile with the snake and then return him/her. I have traveled already via car and plane with my snakes into many different locales with no major upsets. Of course, I don't do it without "consulting with my snake/s" first.
For anyone curious about what I mean by Snake priestessing, there are some links to Youtube that give you a bit of insight, but most of it is in the Serpent Wisdom chapter of my dvd. And I've not yet chosen to put much of that out into the general public. It's too easy to take out of context, ya know.
Hope to get to your side of the pond sssssoon!
Your friendly neghborhood Snake Priestess,
Serpentessa -
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Re: UK Snake Performance rules & regs
Sun, April 20, 2008 - 4:03 AMHello lovely lady, I've actually got your DVD now but haven't had time to work my way through it yet due to study commitments. All finished with university for the year by this time next week though so I'll have more time then!!
As far as I know the transport licence is all you need to move reptiles freely between the UK and EU... a lot of breeders and buyers travel between the UK and Germany for the Hamm show a couple of times a year and some come back with car boots full of hatchling snakes. As long as all the paperwork is correct I can't see it being a problem - and if you have promotional materials to backup what your snakes are used for (performance) I would have thought most inspectors would see that in a completely different light than a breeder buying tonnes of new stock. A performance animal is a personal pet too so I see it as different anyway!
I imagine the rules for planes and other modes of transport are completely different though - this is just for road vehicles as far as I know. Transporting snakes by plane even for large shipments has become insanely expensive and some companies won't even do it anymore.
Anyway, it would be awesome if you make it to the UK sometime. Once I move I'll have a big new house with guest room - and already got space allocated for my reptile room too! I plan to have 2 more boas in before the end of this year, making the total 4.... and potentially some BCC babies from my current pair next year too! :)
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