Pet owners in the borough will be able to find the best possible care for their animals, thanks to a new star rating scheme for animal establishments.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has signed up to ‘Paws on the Doors,’ enabling people to search a new easy-to-use website to check that operators are legitimately licensed and to find out what star rating they have. Dog breeders, kennels, dog home boarders, dog day care, catteries, horse riding and pet shops are all included in the scheme.

The website has been developed by the same team that introduced the food hygiene ratings scheme ‘Scores on the Doors’ and will enable pet lovers to make informed decisions when selecting kennels, pet boarding and other activities where animal licensing should be in place, rather than relying on word of mouth. 

The information on the Paws on the Doors website will be provided directly from licensing teams across the country, including Basingstoke and Deane. Under the Defra scheme, two and three stars means that businesses are meeting legal compliance, while four and five stars means they are exceeding the standards.

The council launched its sign-up to the scheme with an event for local licenced animal businesses to enable them to find out more about Paws on the Doors and to learn about its advantages for their business and their customers.

Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services and Housing Cllr Laura James said: “This scheme will give everybody the opportunity to view up-to-date information, provided by our licensing team, on animal establishments and continue to drive up their standard.

“This is good news for the borough’s animal lovers who will be able to make informed choices about the care and welfare of their pets.”

Paul Hiscoe, Managing Director of Animal Insight said: “Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is one of the most recent forward-thinking authorities to adopt Paws on The Doors. We are confident this will encourage businesses to achieve the top ratings to attract pet owners across the country, exactly as Scores on the Doors dramatically improved compliance to food hygiene regulations when it was launched.”

People can find out more about Paws on the Doors by visiting: www.animal-licensing.uk