A Derby magician has been left hopping mad after a hare-raising £429 city council bill - because he uses a rabbit in his shows. Littleover-based Stuart Brown, known to many as Magic Stuart, has been taking his white bunnies to magic shows around Derby for more than 15 years - and in that period, his rabbits have caused no fuss or prompted any questions.
That was until last week, when the 60-year-old received a call from Derby City Council, informing him that his rabbit Snowy needed a licence - a licence to the tune of £429. Stuart has been one of Derby's most popular children's entertainers since he took up the role full-time when he was laid off by Toyota 20 years ago, turning a lifelong hobby into a career.
"I was shocked, to be honest. I'd never been charged a penny for using rabbits before," Stuart said, after being handed the pricy bill. "It just seems incredibly excessive, but my main gripe is that I'm being put in the same category as those with much larger animals, such as an animal menagerie."
The city council's animal licence fees website is broken down into six categories, all with a varying price tag for a variety of uses. Dog breeders, for example, are charged £1,122 per annum for 11 or more bitches, and people selling animals as pets must pay £688 per annum.
Those hiring out horses also pay in excess of £1,000 per annum, and those keeping dangerous wild animals are charged £744 per annum. So, where does little Snowy fit into this?
The council says Snowy falls under the "keeping and training animals for exhibition" category, prompting a charge of £429 over three years, and £328 to renew - but Stuart argues that Snowy isn't trained at all, and that he is barely used in his shows.
"He isn't trained at all. He is just a very tame rabbit I bring out to greet the kids, and he cheers them up so much. He really brings so much joy. But I can't see where this fee has come from. He's not dangerous at all - he could maybe nip someone at worst - and he isn't even part of the show.
"I just bring him out for 10 minutes at the end sometimes. He is maybe out for 20 minutes each month, at most. When the council told me it was more than £400, I nearly dropped the phone."
Stuart compared what he does with Snowy to the other businesses that may fall under the category, explaining that it's "not fair" that he should pay the fee, but a menagerie with dozens of reptiles or birds of prey would also be charged the same price.
"I perform at a lot of events for charity and I try to bring joy to young children who need it the most," Stuart added. "Some of these children have life-limiting illnesses, and Snowy is just another thing that brings them joy.
"Such an expense can be damaging to small businesses, and I'm just a one-man operation. I don't even charge for a lot of these charities, so this is just another obstacle to make it difficult for me to help these children.
"How can this be fair for a sole trader like myself to be charged the same as a big enterprise that has many animals? Whilst in this day and age, I realise that maybe you should have a licence, as the welfare of animals comes first, but why do you have to pay the same price? And what is the money going towards? It's like asking a child to pay the same price as an adult for a restaurant meal, or similar.
"I only paid £25 for Snowy. In fact, he was bought by a chap who breeds for shows, and he had so many animals that he was keeping and training. To think that I'm in the same category as him is just nonsense."
We asked Derby City Council why Stuart has been called up on this now, despite using rabbits for more than a decade. A spokesperson for the council said: "A licence has been required for the keeping or training of animals for exhibition since October 1, 2018, as part of The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations.
"This is a legal requirement set out by the Government and the fees associated with this are in line with other local authorities across the country."
Stuart has not yet paid the fee, as he is now left to fill out a lengthy six-page form to accompany the application - but in his words, "it doesn't make sense".
"It asks me what type of animal I'll be training, and I put none - because he's untrained. Another one of the sections asks you if it will be used for TV, theatre, circus, animal encounters, and birds of prey, but it doesn't fit any of those categories. What am I supposed to do?
"I'll need to fill the form in, but there will be an appeal letter with it."