Animal welfare information

There is a wide range of legislation to protect the health and welfare of animals in captivity.

The following information explains the standards that owners and keepers must maintain and how to report suspected animal cruelty.

All owners and keepers of animals have a duty of care under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Owners and keepers must take positive steps to ensure they care for their animals properly and in particular must provide for the five welfare needs:

• Its need for a suitable environment
• Its need for a suitable diet
• Its need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns
• Any need it has to be housed with, or apart from, other animals
• Its need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease

The GOV.UK lists the legislation and guidance on animal welfare.

How do I report suspected animal cruelty?

The City of London is the Local Authority for the “square mile” only, i.e. the historic City of London, and not London as a whole, which is covered by 32 London Boroughs. Please view the map on our website, which shows the area we cover.

If you concerned about an animal at an address within City of London, please provide us with further information by emailing the City of London Animal health & welfare services team.

If the address is not within City of London  you can find out which London Borough to contact by entering the postcode into this website. You will then need to report the matter to the relevant London Borough.

The organisation to which you report suspected cases of cruelty or neglect depends on the animal and the type of establishment they're kept in. Please find further information in the sections below.