Bristol City Council said the licences are needed to make sure groups using parks are suitably qualified and insured, while ensuring parks and green spaces remain safe and pleasant.

Any profits made from the licences will be reinvested into maintaining and improving parks, the authority added.

Councillor Stephen Williams, chair of the Public Health and Communities Committee, said: “There is no specific discount applied to professional dog walkers, who are charged under a different fee structure to the Parks Business Licence.

“This approach reflects how commercial dog walking is commonly managed by other local authorities and does not represent a reduction compared with other activities, nor is it intended to provide preferential treatment to any one type of business.”