BBCThe owner of a reindeer visitor attraction has said she fears that her business will be forced to close after the council asked her to apply for a different licence.
Sarah Sutton, who has run the Somerset Reindeer Ranch for 12 years, said Somerset Council had now told her she must obtain a zoo licence or the premises would only be able to open six days a year, instead of all year.
“Reindeers are very quiet and they’re very domesticated – but they’re now being seen as wild animals. It’s ridiculous,” she said.
Somerset Council said it understood that obtaining a zoo licence was a “lengthy process” and would allow this year’s Christmas reindeer events to go ahead as planned.
The attraction, based in Chilthorne Domer, near Yeovil, has operated under an animal exhibition licence for 12 years and runs open days for schools and reindeer meet and feed experiences.
But Somerset Council said following a review of the premises it would need to apply for a zoo licence, or reduce the number of public opening days to a maximum of six, “which would remove the need for a licence”.
Following the development, Liberal Democrat MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, Sarah Dyke, has raised the issue in parliament to clarify what kind of animal licence is needed for venues with reindeers.
Ms Sutton said: “We definitely won’t be able to afford to keep this reindeer herd here without the public being able to come in and support what we do.
“A zoo licence is really for a much larger organisation such as Longleat or Bristol Zoo. It’s not really for us. These reindeer are basically very fancy cattle.
“We are going to be expected to keep licensed firearms for example. We’d have to completely change the infrastructure and it’s not something that we feel that we would be able to do.”
In raising the issue by submitting a new bill to parliament, Dyke detailed how she felt that DEFRA should exclude attractions with reindeer from having to apply for a zoo licence to operate.
The MP said making reindeer farms subject to the same rules as zoos is “nonsensical”.
“The law should be fair and classify reindeer as domesticated animals to ensure all councils right across the country are able to take exactly the same view to allow reindeer farms to continue to operate as they have for many years safely.
“The cost implications could reach up to the region of about £100,000, which is obviously not fair for a small family-run business.”
Somerset Council said in a statement: “Following a review of the premises, it will need to apply for a zoo licence, or reduce the number of public opening days to six or fewer, which would remove the need for a licence.
“Our officers confirmed with the owners that, in line with our enforcement policy, a willingness to resolve any non-compliance by applying for the correct licence would mean the council will not take any formal enforcement steps.
“We also clarified that this position would not prevent Somerset Reindeer Ranch from taking bookings for any planned events.”
DEFRA said local authorities were responsible for zoo licences.
