Rural Payments and Services

The aim of these rules is to minimise the risk posed to human and animal health by certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). They apply to you if you keep farmed animals.

You must:

1. notify the duty veterinary officer of your local Animal and Plant Health Agency office immediately if you know or suspect that an animal or carcass in your possession, or under your charge, is infected with a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE)

2. fully comply with any movement restrictions imposed

3. fully comply with any order to slaughter and destroy any animal

4. fully comply with any other notices served by an inspector

5. fully comply with the inquiry carried out by an inspector to identify all animals at risk

You must not:

1. feed animal protein, or any feeding stuff that contains animal protein, to ruminants*, with the exception of the following (subject to required sourcing and processing, for example, it cannot be catering waste):

• milk, milk-based products and colostrums
• eggs and egg products
• gelatine from non-ruminants
• hydrolysed proteins derived from non-ruminants or from ruminant hides and skins
• milk replacer powder for unweaned ruminants containing fishmeal*

2. feed products containing prohibited proteins* to any farmed animals, or mix prohibited proteins with feedstuffs

3. use restricted proteins* to produce feed for non-ruminants unless you have received authorisation from competent authority

4. use feed products containing restricted proteins on a farm where there are ruminants present unless you are registered with competent authority

5. export from the UK any bovine animal born or reared in the United Kingdom before 1 August, 1996

6. place on the market or export any products consisting of or incorporating any material (other than milk) derived from a bovine animal born or reared in the United Kingdom before 1 August, 1996

7. place on the market or export first generation offspring, the semen, ova or embryos of cattle, sheep or goats (of any age) without fully complying with the documentation requirements and restrictions applying to the sale or export of such products

8. move any cattle born or reared in the UK before 1 August, 1996 from their registered premises unless you have obtained a movement licence from the Animal and Plant Health Agency

Mineral-derived versions of dicalcium phosphate and tricalcium phosphate are permitted for all livestock and are most commonly used. Feed labels which do not specify ‘animal origin’ can be taken to be mineral.

For more information on TSEs or for contact details of your local Animal and Plant Health Agency office, please visit their website.

Animal and Plant Health Agency

To receive an application form to move cattle born or reared in the UK before 1 August, 1996 from their registered premises, also visit the Animal and Plant Health Agency website

Animal and Plant Health Agency – movement licence

*Explanation of terms

'Ruminant' includes: cattle, sheep, goats, camelids, bison, buffalo, deer, antelope and wildebeest.

You can only feed liquid milk replacer to unweaned ruminants containing 'fishmeal' if the manufacturer is authorised to make milk replacer powder containing fishmeal and you are registered to feed such replacer to ruminants.

'Prohibited proteins' are processed animal protein (with specific exemptions) and gelatine from ruminants, for example gelatine (including in surplus food).

'Restricted proteins' are animal proteins restricted to non-ruminant feed production (fishmeal, blood products of non-ruminant origin, dicalcium phosphate and tricalcium phosphate of animal origin). Also included are processed animal proteins of non-ruminant origin, including pig and poultry meal, for aquaculture animals.

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