Licence - Dangerous Animals And Pets

Private ownership of dangerous species is not encouraged, nor is the ownership of primates or exotic species, all of which have special needs in order to ensure a fulfilled life.

The types of animals for which a licence is required are defined in the schedule to the Dangerous Wild Animals Act and grant of a licence is subject to inspection for suitability by the Council's Veterinary Officer.

Conditions placed on licenses will vary depending upon the animal concerned and veterinary advice received.

Please see Basildon Council - Schedule of Fees and Charges 2024-2025 (PDF, 510 KB)(opens new window), for information on the current fees.

Applications can be made by printing and returning the completed form in the related downloads section.

If you need any further information, please see our contact details below.

THE SCHEDULE OF DANGEROUS WILD ANIMALS REQUIRING LICENSING

NOTE The Schedule is amended by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (Modification) (No 2) Order 2007 which is in force from 1 October 2007. The list below reflects the changes brought about by the Modification Order which can be summarised as:

Removed from the Schedule:
Certain smaller primates (woolly lemurs, tamarins, night (or owl) monkeys, titis and squirrel monkeys), sloths, the North American porcupine, the capybara, crested porcupines, certain types of cat (the wild cat, the pallas cat, the little spotted cat, the Geoffroy's cat, the kodkod, the bay cat, the sand cat, the black-footed cat, the rusty-spotted cat; cat hybrids descended exclusively from such excepted species; cat hybrids having a domestic cat as one parent and a first generation hybrid of a domestic cat and a non-excepted cat as the other parent, and cats which are descended exclusively from such excepted hybrids or from such excepted hybrids and a domestic cat), cacomistles, racoons, coatis, olingos, the little coatimundi, kinkajou, binturong, hyraxes, guanaco, vicugna, emus, sand snakes, the mangrove snake, and the Brazilian wolf spider.

Added to the Schedule:
The Argentine black-headed snake, the Peruvian racer, the South American green racer, the Amazon false viper, the Middle-eastern thin-tailed scorpion and the dingo.

The following list reflects the Schedule as amended by the 2007 No 2 Order. Only the common names are listed.

• Anthropoid apes; chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans and gorillas.

• Gibbons and Siamangs.
• Leaping lemurs (including the indri and sifakas). The woolly lemur is excepted.
• Large lemurs. Bamboo or gentle lemurs are excepted.
• The giant armadillo.
• The giant anteater.
• Wild dogs, wolves, jackals, the maned wolf, the bush dog and the dhole. Foxes, raccoon dogs and the domestic dog (but not the dingo) are excepted.
• All cats including the bobcat, caracal, cheetah, jaguar, leopard, lion, lynx, ocelot, puma, serval and tiger. The following are excepted:
  (a) the wild cat, the pallas cat, the little spotted cat, the Geoffroy's cat, the kodkod, the bay cat, the sand cat, the black-footed cat, the rusty-spotted cat and domestic cat;
  (b) a hybrid which is descended exclusively from any one or more species within paragraph (a);
  (c) a hybrid cat having as one parent a domestic cat and as the other parent a first generation hybrid of a domestic cat and any cat not within paragraph (a);
  (d)any cat which is descended exclusively from any one or more hybrids within paragraph (c); (e)any cat which is descended from a domestic cat and any one or more hybrids within paragraph (c).
• Hyaenas (except the aardwolf).
• Badgers (except the Eurasian badger), otters (except the European otter), and the tayra, wolverine, fisher and ratel (otherwise known as the honey badger).
• All bears including the giant panda and the red panda.
• The African, large spotted, Malay and Indian civets and the fossa.
• The walrus.
• Eared seals.
• True or earless seals. The common (or harbour seal) and grey seal are excepted.
• Elephants.
• The aardvark.
• Asses, horses and zebras. The donkey and domestic horse are excepted.
• Rhinoceroses.
• Tapirs.
• The Pronghorn
• Antelopes, bison, buffalo, gazelles, goats and sheep. Domestic cattle, buffalo, goats and sheep are excepted.
• Camels.
• The moose or elk and the caribou or reindeer. The domestic reindeer is excepted.
• The giraffe and the okapi.
• The hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus.
• Old-world pigs (including the wild boar and the wart hog). The domestic pig is excepted.
• New-world pigs (otherwise known as peccaries).
• Any mammalian hybrids with at least one parent of a specified kind, and any animal of which at least one parent is such a hybrid. This does not apply to excepted cat hybrids.
• Cassowaries.
• The ostrich.
• Alligators and caimans.
• Crocodiles and the false gharial.
• The gharial (otherwise known as the gavial).
• Burrowing asps, also known as mole or burrowing vipers and stiletto snakes.
• Certain rear fanged venomous snakes, Montpellier snakes and African vine snakes (otherwise known as African twig or bird snakes). The boomslang, the rednecked keelback, the yamakagashi (otherwise known as the Japanese tiger-snake), the Argentine black-headed snake, the South American green racer, the Peruvian racer and the Amazon false viper.
• Certain front-fanged venomous snakes including cobras, coral snakes, kraits, mambas, whipsnakes and all Australian poisonous snakes (including the death adders).
• Sea snakes
• The gila monster and the (Mexican) beaded lizard.
• Certain front-fanged venomous snakes (including adders, the barba amarilla, the bushmaster, the fer de lance, moccasins, rattlesnakes and vipers).
• Wandering spiders.
• The Sydney funnel-web spider and its close relatives.
• Brown recluse spiders (otherwise known as violin spiders).
• The widow spiders and close relatives.
• Buthid scorpions.
• Middle Eastern thin-tailed scorpion.