Animal by-products (ABP)
Animal by-products (ABPs) are animal carcases, parts of carcases or products of animal origin that are not intended for human consumption. This includes:
- catering waste
- used cooking oil
- former foodstuffs
- butcher and slaughterhouse waste
- blood
- feathers
- wool
- hides and skins
- fallen stock
- pet animals
- zoo and circus animals
- hunt trophies
- manure
- ova
- embryos and semen.
Animal by-products are a potential source of risks to public and animal health. For example improper use of animal by-products has resulted in outbreaks of serious diseases such as foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever, avian influenza and the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Legislation has been in place for many years to control these risks by setting out the rules for collection, storage, transport, treatment, use and disposal of animal by-products. Animal by-products are divided into 3 categories according to their level of risk. For information on categories see our Categorisation of animal by-products page.
The legislation has been reviewed with the introduction of Regulation (EC) 1069/2009 and Regulation (EU) 142/2011 which replaced Regulation (EC) 1774/2002 on the 4th March 2011. The EU Regulations are enforced through the:
- Animal by-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2011
- Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2011
- Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (Wales) Regulations 2011
Unless stated in full, throughout this guidance Regulation (EC) 1069/2009 and its corresponding implementing Regulation (EU) 142/2011 are referred to as the EU Control Regulation and the EU Implementing Regulation respectively.
Guidance on the legislation, including any country specific derogations, can be found at:
