Festsetzung von Messen, Ausstellungen oder Märkten beantragen

Do you want to hold events with animals? Do you want to hold animal fairs, animal exhibitions or animal markets where animals are sold or traded? Then you need permission to do so before you start your activity.

If you want to hold events at which animals are sold, exchanged or traded, you must apply for a permit from your competent veterinary authority before starting the activity. This type of event with animals includes, for example, animal fairs, animal exhibitions or animal markets.

The competent authority will decide whether to grant the permit within four months of receiving the application. This period can be extended by up to two months depending on the scope and difficulty of the examination of the requirements for granting the permit. You should therefore allow sufficient time for the permit to be issued before commencing your activity.

You may only commence your activity once you have received the permit.

• Please check with the competent veterinary authority for application forms for a permit and what other documents must be submitted
• Informal application for permission with the following content:
  • Type, expected number and sex of animals to be kept or description of the intended activity and animal husbandry
  • Details of the person responsible for the activity
• Certificates of competence of the responsible persons who have contact with the animals
• Certificate of good conduct
• Sketch(es) of the housing facility(s)

• They must ensure that the requirements of animal welfare law, in particular § 2 of the Animal Welfare Act, are met.
• Application contains all the required information
• All required documents are available
• If you are the person responsible for the activity, you must:
  • have the professional knowledge and skills required for the job due to your training or your previous professional or other contact with animals. Proof of this must be provided upon request in an expert discussion with the competent authority
  • have the required reliability.

Their premises and facilities used for the activity must enable the animals, to be eaten, cared for and housed in accordance with the legal requirements.

After you have submitted the required documents to your competent veterinary authority, the documents will be checked for accuracy and completeness. Subsequently, if necessary, an on-site inspection by the official veterinary service will take place at your site and, if necessary, an expert interview. You will then receive permission.

• Usually 4 months
• In exceptional cases, the processing time may be extended

Please note that you are only allowed to start your work after receiving the permit and the processing time can take up to 4 months (in exceptional cases up to 6 months).

Within one month of notification, an action may be brought before the administrative court with territorial jurisdiction .

Register for an animal exhibition, animal market or animal exchange

• Events with animals must be reported before the start of the event.
• The commercial purchase or exchange of animals is subject to approval.
• Registration/approval is carried out by the responsible district authority (usually: veterinary office)

Your contacts are the veterinary offices of the districts and independent cities in Lower Saxony, the Hanover region and the JadeWeser Veterinary Office.

You can find the list of veterinary offices here.

Your contacts are the veterinary offices of the districts and independent cities in Lower Saxony, the Hanover region and the JadeWeser Veterinary Office.

• Informal application for permission
• If necessary, your competent veterinary authority will provide further documents for the application. Therefore, please contact your local veterinary authority
• From 2023 at the latest, the permit can also be applied for online