Mr and Mrs Haywood and Mrs K Walsh
Directors Longcross Kennels
Longcross Road
Longcross
Chertsey
Surrey
KT16 0DN / Date: 15 January 2009
Dear Mr and Mrs Haywood and Mrs Walsh
Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963
Animal Welfare Act 2006
Renewal of Licence
Re: Longcross Kennels, Longcross Road, Longcross, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 0DN.
I write with regard to the annual inspection of your premises and subsequent conversation with Mrs Walsh on the same day. During the inspection I was accompanied by RSPCA Inspector Hare 983. During the inspection, Longcross was boarding 120 dangerous dogs, three domestic pet dogs and one cat.
There are a number of significant issues relating to both the dog and cat boarding areas that need to be addressed; some before the new licence will be issued and others before the next annual inspection. Additionally, this letter also includes some options that I feel will improve the standard of the premises.
DOG PENS
· There were a number of badly damaged wire door to the pens in Cow House Two. These protruding pieces of wire have the potential to cause serious injury to any dogs housed within these pens. Additionally, it was disappointing to see that one of the pens had a sign on it stating “do not use”, however, there was a dog inside. Do not use these pens and carry out repair as soon as possible.
This contravenes condition 4 of your licence
Animal Welfare Act 2006
· The floors to the dog pens are bare untreated concrete and therefore porous. Two members of staff stated that they found it impossible to ensure that the floors were dry following cleaning, before placing animals inside. The Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 states that ‘concrete bases and floors must be of smooth and impervious materials, capable of being easily cleaned and all floors of kennels and individual exercise areas must be constructed and maintained in such a condition as to prevent ponding of liquids’. Therefore you must suitably paint all floors with an industrial, quick drying and non toxic floor sealant. This will allow for more effective cleaning and ensure that the floors can be dried instantly. I will expect this to be carried out before the next annual inspection. I would also urge you in future to monitor the condition of the pens and carry out any required maintenance as you feel is necessary in order to comply with your licence conditions.
This contravenes condition 4 of your licence
CATTERY
· There was no identification of the unit in which the only cat was boarding. The Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 states that ‘each compartment must be clearly marked or numbered to ensure that the relevant information about that cat is readily available’. When I questioned your staff they could not name the cat inside the pen.
This contravenes condition 36 of your licence
Animal Welfare Act 2006
· The cleanliness of the cattery was very poor and does not currently comply with the legally required standard set out in the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963. The ceilings were covered in cobwebs and dust and were not of good structure to allow for effective cleaning.
This contravenes condition 22 of your licence
Animal Welfare Act 2006
· There were animal toys coated in cat fur hanging on the wire front of all compartments and inside the runs. Due to the amount of fur on these toys I must assume that they are not cleaned from one boarder to another. You must either remove all these from the compartments and runs or effectively clean them following each separate stay. I would strongly recommend that these are removed all together and customers advised to bring their pets own home comforts should they wish to.
This contravenes condition 24 of your licence
· The litter tray was saturated in urine and in my opinion due to the amount of urine had not been cleaned out and replaced for sometime. Inspector Hare noted that there was no clean wholesome drinking water for the cat and the water had sawdust from the litter tray in it. However, as discussed this matter endorses the need for you to upgrade your current the facilities.
This contravenes condition 23, 27 and 30 of your licence
Animal Welfare Act 2006
· There were a number of used forks with dried on food debris on the window sill opposite the cat pens. I must assume that these are used to serve the cat food from the tin. Utensils used for this purpose must be kept clean at all times.
This contravenes condition 31 of your licence
· As discussed with Mrs Walsh and endorsed by staff during the inspection. I strongly recommend that you cease to board cats at Longcross. I would also advise that should this be the case this area (the cattery) then be utilised soley for the use of boarding the smaller amount domesticated pet dogs, thus separating the domestic animals from the dangerous dogs.
The paragraphs below were to me following the inspection and include relevant legislation as covered by the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Inspectors Hare’s comments on Cattery
“The main concerns within the cattery were size and noise. All cattery's should have pens which allow the cat freedom to move around and ideally have access inside and outside, this cattery's pens barely give the cats enough room to stretch out. They are far too small for a cat to spend anymore than one or two days in unless the animal was sick, as in vets which have similar sized cages. If the cats are put out into the outdoor section in the cattery they are surrounded by a loud noise caused by the barking of over 100 dogs which even for the boldest cats would I imagine be very stressful. This cattery is so far below the standards I have seen in numerous other establishments and in my opinion is inadequate to board cats in”.
Inspectors Hare’s comments on Dog boarding
“I would expect to see all pet boarding animals kept separate from case dogs. Case dogs are very noisy and stressful dogs and personally I feel that if someone is paying to board their pet dog, they should be provided with a less stressful and more comfortable environment than they are currently kept in”.
GENERAL
As discussed with Mrs Walsh during a telephone conversation on the 12 January 2009. I recommended that Longcross is no longer used for the boarding of cats. Additionally, I would urge that the domestic ‘pet’ dogs are in some way segregated from the large amount of dangerous dogs boarded at Longcross. As agreed during the telephone conversation, dangerous dogs need to be handled very differently to domesticated pet dogs and this needs to be acknowledged within your business.
Please contact me should you wish to discuss the contents of this letter.
Yours sincerely
Helen Jones
Environmental Health Officer
Email:
Direct line: 01932 425735
Our primary aim: to enhance the quality of life for Runnymede residents