A zoological collection produces a far more varied stream of animal by-product material than a farm does, and it does so under the gaze of a paying public and a licensing authority at the same time. Martlands provides licensed fallen stock and ABP collection across the North West and is approved for all three animal by-product categories, and wildlife park ABP collection is a specialist corner of that work. The compliance requirements are the same as any other producer’s, but the practical circumstances are not remotely the same.
What a Collection Actually Generates
Three streams tend to arise. The first is mortality among the collection itself, which spans everything from small mammals and birds to large ungulates and, in some collections, animals of considerable size. The second is feed material, because carnivore diets involve carcasses and meat products that generate by-products in preparation and produce uneaten residues afterwards. The third is catering and visitor food waste, which is a substantial stream in its own right at any site attracting large numbers of visitors.
These streams do not share a disposal route and must not share a container. Mixing them is the most common failure we see when a collection is reviewing its arrangements, and it is generally the result of a well-intentioned attempt to simplify rather than any disregard for the rules.
Categorisation Across a Mixed Collection
Animals from a zoological collection that die on site are generally handled as Category 1 material, and that is the assumption to work from unless you have specific advice to the contrary. Our Category 1 ABP collection operates under Animal By-Products Licence No APB/CCN21/373/8002 with Waste Carrier Licence CB/QE5406MT and Site Licence EAWML/100236. Where an animal has been euthanised using restricted veterinary products, the Category 1 position is absolute and the material is excluded from every other route.
Catering and visitor food waste is a different stream entirely and is handled through our food waste and ABP collection service, with leak-proof containers provided. Sites frequently underestimate this volume, particularly across a peak summer season, and end up with overflowing containment in the one part of the operation the public can see.
Post-Mortem, Research and Retained Material
Collections routinely carry out post-mortem examination on animals that die, both for their own management purposes and because a licensing condition or a studbook may require it. That is entirely proper, and it delays disposal rather than replacing it. Once the examination is complete the material still has to leave the site through a licensed route with the correct documentation, and material retained for research or for a museum needs a clear record explaining why it is still on site.
The practical advice is to keep the veterinary record and the disposal record in the same place. Where a collection is asked, months later, what happened to a particular animal, the answer needs to be a single coherent account rather than two systems that have to be reconciled.
Native Wildlife on Site
A wildlife park sits in a landscape and will find dead wild animals on its grounds as any large site does, from birds and deer to foxes and badgers. The rules covering wild animals differ from those covering kept animals, and the position depends heavily on species and circumstance. Our wild animals disposal guidance sets out the general framework. Where a wild bird die-off occurs on a site holding a bird collection, that is a matter for immediate veterinary and APHA attention rather than a disposal question.
Storage Where the Public Can See You
The storage constraints on a visitor attraction are unlike those on a farm. Containment has to be secure, leak-proof and chilled where holding periods extend, but it also has to be sited out of public view and out of prevailing wind of any visitor area. Collection vehicles need an access route that does not cross visitor circulation, and collection times need to sit outside opening hours or use a service entrance.
None of this is complicated, but it needs designing in rather than improvising. Sites that share the challenge of public access and animal by-product handling, including open farms and petting farms, face a very similar set of problems, and our guidance on open farms, petting farms and city farms covers the practical arrangements that tend to work.
Licensing, Inspection and Evidence
Zoo licensing inspections examine waste and by-product handling alongside everything else, and the inspector will want documentary evidence rather than a description of the arrangement. Every Martlands collection produces a Commercial Document, and a Waste Transfer Note where the material is handled as waste, and both are accepted for local authority inspection, ISO 14001 certification and sustainability reporting purposes. Bookings run through the KoLeCt system, giving each collection a traceable reference from the point the call is logged.
Coverage Across the North West
Animal collections in our service area range from major visitor attractions to small specialist collections and rescue centres, and they are spread widely rather than clustered. Sites across Cheshire ABP collection sit on the routes we run daily through the dairy country, and the ground either side of the Mersey is well covered from Burscough.
The same applies through Merseyside ABP collection, where a number of collections and rescue centres operate close to the urban area with limited on-site storage and correspondingly higher collection frequency requirements. We would rather set that frequency correctly at the outset than react to a site running out of space in August.
Setting Up an Arrangement
Every collection is different, and the sensible first step is a conversation about what you actually generate across each stream and what storage you have. Call 01704 776977 and we will work through it, or get in touch through contact us to arrange a site visit.
