Martlands provides licensed Category 2 animal by-product collection to farms, abattoirs, equine centres and food processors across Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cumbria. Category 2 is the middle tier of the animal by-products framework, and it is the tier where correct classification matters most, because the boundary with Category 1 turns on species and age rather than on how the animal died. Our animal by-products licence is APB/CCN21/373/8002, held against a DEFRA approved processing and sampling facility in Burscough.
What Falls Into Category 2
Category 2 covers manure and digestive tract content, animals that died other than by slaughter for human consumption where no specified risk material is present, animals killed for disease control purposes, animals or parts rejected at an abattoir on the grounds of infectious disease, hatchery waste including birds that died in shell, and material containing residues of authorised veterinary medicines above permitted limits.
That last item is a distinction worth holding on to. Residues of authorised substances above permitted limits put material in Category 2. Residues of prohibited substances put it in Category 1. The difference is the legal status of the substance rather than the quantity found, and it is a common source of misclassification on mixed holdings.
Where Fallen Stock Actually Sits
Fallen stock is often described as Category 2 material, and much of it is, but not all of it. Where a carcass contains specified risk material, which in practice means ruminants above the relevant age thresholds, it is Category 1 and must be handled on that basis. Fallen stock from other species is categorised on its own facts rather than being pushed up a tier by default.
Getting this right matters in both directions. Treating everything as Category 1 adds cost and handling requirements you do not need. Treating a carcass containing specified risk material as Category 2 is a compliance failure. Where you are unsure, the safe step is to ask before the collection rather than after. Our guide to ABP categories compares the three tiers, and Category 1 ABP collection covers the higher tier.
What Happens to Category 2 Material
Category 2 material cannot enter the human or animal food chain. It can, however, be recovered in ways Category 1 cannot, which is why accurate classification has a commercial value as well as a legal one.
The principal route is rendering by pressure sterilisation at 133 degrees Celsius, at three bar, for twenty minutes. Once sterilised, the resulting meat and bone meal and tallow can go to technical uses, and certain derived products can be used as organic fertilisers or soil improvers subject to the restrictions on grazing land. Manure and digestive tract content can go to an approved biogas or composting plant, in some cases without prior pressure sterilisation where the material qualifies. Incineration remains available where recovery is not appropriate.
Which route applies depends on the material, not on preference, and the receiving plant must be approved for the category. Our page on what happens to fallen stock after collection follows the process through from the farm gate.
Documentation and Farm Records
Every Category 2 animal by-product collection is accompanied by a Commercial Document recording the category, the quantity, the producer, the carrier and the receiving plant. The producer copy is retained for two years, and it is the record an inspector asks for.
For farm businesses these records do more than satisfy the animal by-products regulations. They support Red Tractor assessment, they evidence the duty of care, and they demonstrate that fallen stock has left the holding through a licensed route rather than being buried. Martlands is a member of the National Fallen Stock Company, and collections are booked and tracked through the KoLeCt system so a full collection history can be produced quickly. Our pages on who is NFSCO and what is KoLeCt explain how both work. We hold Waste Carrier Licence CB/QE5406MT and Site Licence EAWML/100236.
Handling Fallen Stock Before Collection
What happens between the animal dying and the vehicle arriving determines how straightforward the collection is, and it carries its own biosecurity risk. Move the carcass to a designated collection point away from live stock, watercourses and field drains, and cover it so that birds and scavengers cannot spread material across the holding or onto neighbouring land.
Place it on hard standing or an impermeable surface where you can, so that fluid does not run off into soil or ditches. Keep the collection point reachable by a vehicle in wet weather, which on upland and clay holdings is worth thinking about before you need it rather than on the day. On-farm burial and burning has been unlawful since 2003, with narrow derogations for designated remote areas, and the ban on burying or burning fallen stock sets out the current position.
BSE Surveillance and Statutory Sampling
Fallen cattle over 48 months require brain stem sampling for BSE surveillance before disposal. Martlands is a DEFRA approved sampling centre, so the sampling is carried out as part of the collection rather than through a separate arrangement, and the results feed into national disease surveillance. Our page on BSE testing of fallen cattle explains what the process involves for the keeper, and what APHA is responsible for covers where the surveillance obligation comes from.
Who We Provide Category 2 Animal By-Product Collection For
Livestock Farms
Mortality is not evenly spread through the year. Lambing, calving, housing and periods of heat or prolonged wet all concentrate losses into short windows, and a collector who can absorb that variation is worth more than one quoting a flat weekly slot. Same-day collection is available for fallen stock. Our guidance on how often farms should arrange fallen stock collection covers setting a sensible frequency.
Abattoirs and Meat Processors
Animals and parts rejected on the grounds of infectious disease are Category 2, and they arise alongside Category 1 specified risk material and Category 3 trimmings on the same site. Three tiers through one licensed operator removes the risk of a stream being routed into the wrong container. Lower-risk material is handled through Category 3 ABP collection.
Equine Premises
Yards, studs and riding centres produce occasional rather than routine volumes, and often need collection at short notice with a degree of discretion. We arrange these individually rather than through a standing schedule.
Mixed Commercial Sites
Where a site produces Category 2 alongside commercial food waste, both can run on one account. Full food waste and ABP collection covers the commercial streams.
Category 2 Animal By-Product Collection Across the North West
Burscough sits close to the M6, M58 and M61, which is what makes same-day response realistic on the Lancashire plain, across the Cheshire dairy belt and up into the Ribble Valley. Farms and processors in Lancashire ABP collection areas and across Cheshire ABP collection areas are on regular routes, and we also collect throughout Merseyside, Greater Manchester and south Cumbria.
Collections routinely reach upland holdings in the Forest of Bowland and the southern Lakes, where access rather than distance is usually the constraint. Where you are on a track that becomes difficult in winter, tell us when you book and we will send an appropriate vehicle. Biosecurity between holdings is managed through cleaning and disinfection between collections, and our page on how ABP collection supports biosecurity explains why that matters at herd level.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is all fallen stock Category 2?
No. Fallen ruminants above the relevant age thresholds contain specified risk material and are Category 1. Other fallen stock is generally Category 2. The deciding factor is species and age, not the fact that the animal died on farm.
Can Category 2 material go to anaerobic digestion?
Some of it can. Manure and digestive tract content can go to an approved biogas or composting plant, in certain cases without prior pressure sterilisation. Other Category 2 material must be pressure sterilised first. The plant must be approved for the category it receives.
How quickly can you collect fallen stock?
Same-day collection is available, and the line is answered outside office hours. Call 01704 776977 and we will tell you when a vehicle can realistically reach you rather than quoting a standard window.
What records do I need to keep?
The producer copy of the Commercial Document for each collection, retained for two years. Filed by date, it makes an inspection straightforward and it evidences that stock left the holding through a licensed route.
Do I need to tell you what the animal died of?
Tell us if disease is suspected, because it may change the category and the handling. You do not need a diagnosis. If a notifiable disease is suspected, that must be reported to APHA before anything is moved.
Can Category 2 derived products go on grazing land?
Organic fertilisers and soil improvers derived from Category 2 material are subject to restrictions on application to land grazed by farmed animals, including a waiting period before grazing resumes. Check the specific product against the current rules before spreading.
Arrange Category 2 Animal By-Product Collection
If you are not certain which tier your material falls into, ask before the collection rather than after an inspection raises it. We can assess what you are producing, advise on containment and set a frequency that matches how losses actually arrive on your holding. Call 01704 776977 to speak to the team, or use our contact us page to request a quote for Category 2 animal by-product collection.