Although the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) does not regulate whole unprocessed animal tissue, it may be subject to regulation by other state, territory or Commonwealth authorities.
For example, the following requirements reflect a decision taken in 2001 by the then Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand (ARMCANZ) in relation to minimising any potential risk of transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
Because of a possible link between the spread of BSE and meat and bonemeal products being fed to ruminants, adding any fish, poultry or mammalian material to ruminant feed is prohibited under state laws.
The definition of material for this purpose includes blood, meat, offal, skin, skin covering (such as feathers), bone, and any material derived from these things. At this stage, the mammalian materials tallow, gelatine and milk products remain exempt. However, these exempt materials must be locally sourced, should still meet appropriate specifications for quality and purity, and must obviously not contain any meat and bonemeal material.
This prohibition also applies to some veterinary medicinal products fed to ruminants, including non-exempt medicated feeds, medicated feed premixes, feed supplements, feed additives, and medicated blocks and licks.