Animal by-products governance and legislation

The Animal By-Products (Enforcement) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 have now been put in place to administer and enforce the EU regulations.

The legislation

The legislation governing animal by-products can be found using the following links:

Amendments to the legislation

Licence summary

Approval is required for premises, operators or equipment involved in the storage, processing, treatment or disposal of animal by-products.
The Department will require an inspection to be carried out by a Department official prior to the granting of approval.

List of current approved premises

Eligibility criteria

An application can be made to operate any of the following premises:

composting or biogas plants
incinerator
intermediate plant handling animal by-products
pet food plant
storage plants for processed animal by-products
collection and treatment plants for animal by-products
final users of treated animal by-products
rendering Plant
technical Plant
Final users of animal by-products

Regulation summary

A summary of the regulation relating to these approvals can be accessed on the gov.uk website.

Application evaluation process

Details of the evaluation criteria applicable to the approval of each Animal By-Product premises is available in the animal by-products general guidance. Further guidance is also provided on the relevant application form.
Once an application is received you will be contacted by DAERA within 15 working days to arrange an inspection visit. The approval process will be discussed at the visit and an indication on when approval will be granted will also be given at this point. When the inspection report is completed, providing all conditions are met, notice of approval will be issued within 10 working days.

Will tacit consent apply?

No. It is in the public interest that the authority must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from the Department within the timescales above, please contact us. You can also do this online if you applied through the UK Welcomes service or use the contact details below.

Apply online

You can apply online to run an animal by-products premises via the nibusinessinfo website, entering your post code to see a list of applications. You will need to register on the website before you can do this.

Tell us about a change to your existing circumstances.

Alternatively applications can be downloaded from the animal by-products applications section of this website.

Failed application redress

Applications will have an opportunity to discuss and redress issues affecting their eligibility during the approval process so that applications are not rejected.

However if an application is not approved, where necessary, applicants should contact the Department using the contact details below.

Consumer complaint

If you have a complaint about an approved premises we would advise that the first contact is made with the premises by you - preferably in the form of a letter (with proof of delivery). If that has not worked, please contact the Department.