How Hinckley and Earl Shilton's council licenses dog boarders
Every one of the nine dog boarders, day cares and kennels listed for Hinckley and Earl Shilton needs a council licence to operate: boarding kennels, home boarding and day care are all licensed activities under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018, the same requirement that applies everywhere in England. Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council is the licensing authority for this whole page's area, covering both Hinckley & Burbage and Earl Shilton & Barwell.
No public register to check
Unlike some neighbouring councils, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council does not publish a public register of who holds a licence. Its own guidance states that anyone wanting to know whether a specific business is currently licensed should contact the council directly rather than look it up online. That means none of the nine businesses on this page carries a licence number, a star rating or an expiry date here — not because any of them failed an inspection or lacks a licence, but because there is nothing public for this directory, or you, to check it against.
What businesses say about themselves
Several of the nine state on their own site that they hold a council licence; this directory records that a business makes the claim, but it is the business's own word, not a confirmed fact, and no licence number or star rating from any of the nine appears anywhere on this site as a result. Wags Dog Care separately describes itself as a Kennel Club-licensed breeder — a registration with the Kennel Club for its breeding operation, not a council animal-boarding licence, and worth keeping the two apart when you ask what a business is actually licensed for.
What this means for you
Ask to see the actual licence certificate when you visit or collect your dog, and ask what it shows: the licence number, the expiry date and any star rating written on it. If you want to check a specific business's licence status independently rather than take its word for it, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council's own licensing team is the only place to ask, since no register exists for you to search yourself. See our vaccinations, licences and what to ask guide for the fuller list of questions worth putting to any of the nine before you book.
What a star rating is, even though none appears here
In England, a council that does run a public register normally shows a 1-to-5 star rating from a risk-based inspection, and a higher rating usually comes with a longer licence, up to three years for the top rating. That system still applies to every business here in principle — Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council still inspects and licenses under the same regulations — it is only the public register, and the star figure that would come with it, that is missing. A business that mentions a star rating on its own site is quoting a figure from its own certificate, not from anything this directory or you can check online.