The Animal Welfare Section is part of the Environmental Services Directorate's Health and Safety Team. Its officers carry out inspections of all pet shops, boarding establishments, riding establishments, farms and other premises, within the borough, where animals are kept for commercial nature, to ensure that proprietors and owners of animals and establishments are fulfilling their legal duties under current animal health legislation. In this way, they try to improve animal health and welfare within establishments and reduce the incidence of animal suffering and cruelty. They inspect records and animal identification to ensure trace ability of animal movements throughout the country and prevent the spreading of animal diseases. They also investigate all complaints that are made and any accidents that occur.
All licensed premises are required to be inspected half yearly, followed by a full licence inspection toward the latter end of the year. Other premises are categorised by a risk rating procedure, which means the larger the score, the more regularly they will be inspected. Appropriate advice, guidance and help is offered, both at the time of inspection and after. Indeed, for the vast majority of the time, the officers will adopt an educative role in raising Animal Health and Welfare standards and will only prosecute as a last resort.
The Council aims to work closely with any establishments and businesses to provide a fair and consistent Animal Health and Welfare relationship. If you feel that you have been treated unfairly by our staff and wish to complain or if you want to report an incidence of animal suffering and cruelty please notify us by using the Contact Information details given below.
Telephone: 0161 770 4484
E-mail: environmentalhealth@oldham.gov.uk
Address: Principal Environmental Health Officer, Health and Safety Section, Environmental Protection, Environmental Health, Chadderton Town Hall, Middleton Road, Chadderton, Oldham OL9 6PP