South Somerset District Council (SSDC), Taunton Deane Borough Council (TDBC) and West Somerset Council (WSC) undertook the process of tendering for the provision stray dog collection, transport and kennelling services of stray dogs from suitably qualified and experienced suppliers. This contract will be offered to enable the named councils to comply with their legal responsibilities to control stray dogs.

South Somerset District Council (SSDC), Taunton Deane Borough Council (TDBC) and West Somerset Council (WSC) are undertaking the process of tendering for the provision stray dog collection, transport and kennelling services of stray dogs from suitably qualified and experienced suppliers. This contract will be offered to enable the named councils to comply with their legal responsibilities to control stray dogs. As such, the Councils are seeking a contractor to: respond to communications regarding stray dogs, catch/collect the dogs, transport them appropriately and kennel them for a period of up to and including 7 days from the date of collection of each dog. After the 7 days period, the dog becomes the property of the contractor who must then consider options for re-homing. Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council are also wish to tender for the provision of 8 hours per week of Dog Warden Patrols of our public open spaces from a suitably qualified and experienced supplier. It is anticipated that the resulting contracts will be for a 5 year periods (February 2019 – January 2024), with an options to extend by a further 2 years. The councils are seeking a sustainable service which clearly demonstrates efficiencies and benefits for the animals, the animal owners, the council and the supplier of the service. The Councils is seeking to appoint a supplier to deliver this service in a flexible and customer focused way, taking into account any changes which may be required as the service develops over time. While the named authorities are tendering collaboratively for this service, it should be noted that separate contracts will be awarded, according to the contracting scenarios outlined below. Individual contracts will be issued by the 2 Councils (SSDC and TDBC). The contract terms and conditions will form part of both individual contracts.