Animal By-products
The Animal By-Products Regulations apply controls on the use, treatment, handling and disposal of animal by-products with the aim of controlling the risks, including disease, to both animals and the public.
Animal By-products (ABPs) are defined as:
entire bodies or parts of animals or products of animal origin not intended for human consumption.
The legislation divides animal by-products into three categories according to their risk:
Category 1 - Very high risk material, including:
- Experimental animals
- Carcasses of animals suspected or confirmed of being infected with Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy
Category 2 - High risk material, including:
- Animals that die on a farm
- ABPs that are contaminated (for example with certain veterinary drug residues above a permitted level
- Manure and the digestive tract content.
Category 3 - Low risk material, including:
- Parts of slaughtered animals that are fit for human consumption
Parts of slaughtered animals that are not fit for human consumption but have no communicable disease - Blood, untreated milk, hides, skin
- Catering waste (other than that from international transport)
Some animal by-product material may also be potentially hazardous for other reasons such as being:
- infectious
- contaminated with a chemical
- contaminated with a readiochemical
- a combination of the above
Animal by-product material that is hazardous due to its infectious or chemical properties is called Special Waste and is subject to special disposal requirements.
The University has appointed an approved supplier for disposal of Special and Non-Special animal by-product waste. See the Service Users guide for biological waste.