Statutory guidance

Prohibitions on the import of deer urine or faeces, and lures - Import Information Note (IIN) ABP/44

Published 2 December 2024

1. General information 

This Import Information Note (IIN) must be read in conjunction with the IIN for general information for imports of animal by-products (ABPs), which provides information on pre-notifications, veterinary checks, risk categories and more. 

References to European Union (EU) legislation within this document are references to direct EU legislation which has been assimilated in Great Britain (assimilated direct legislation), as defined in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 and can be viewed on the UK legislation website

2. Scope 

This IIN covers the importation of deer lures comprising urine and faeces, either alone or with glands or other attractant products, for commercial or personal use for deer hunting or other deer attracting activities derived from all farmed and wild deer species.

Any reference to deer refers to any family member of the scientific name Cervidae which comprises deer, caribou, elk, and moose. 

3. Ban on importing unprocessed material and conditions for importing processed material  

Following a veterinary risk assessment, the UK authorities have determined that due to the risk from Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) the import of unprocessed deer urine and lures obtained from deer for commercial or personal use for deer hunting or other deer attracting activities which contain the above animal by-products shall be prohibited. 

Imports are only permitted from countries free from CWD under certain conditions. The import of products manufactured in or produced from products from the USA, Canada, South Korea and Norway where CWD is present are prohibited. 

Imports of urine or faeces derived from farmed deer which is not processed according to the standards set out in animal by-products (ABP) Regulation (EC) 1069/2009 and Regulation (EU) 142/2011 are prohibited.  

The import of the above products from wild deer is subject to licensing under national legislation and may only be imported where it can be established there is no risk to public or animal health. The process for making licence applications is set out below. Licences will not be issued for imports from the above countries or for unprocessed material or products until further notice whilst the risk of CWD remains. 

Where it cannot be established whether the above products are obtained from farmed or wild deer or may be mixed in origin then the prohibitions under the above legislation for farmed deer apply.

4. Application for licences to import urine or faeces and lures comprising these from wild deer  

Importers wishing to import the above wild deer animal by-products should apply for an authorisation using application form IV58 for a specific authorisation obtained from the contact address in Section 7.  

Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applying for an authorisation does not guarantee that one will be issued.  

Importers must ensure that the following information is submitted with the application form:

  • a complete list of all ingredients in the product
  • the percentage of each animal by-product in the product
  • the country of origin of each animal by-product used
  • the processing methods for each animal by-product including temperatures and timings

5. Production standards 

All the animal by-products must have undergone a treatment to ensure that there is no risk of the transmission of disease to humans or animals. The treatment methods, including those that are not traditional processing methods, will be considered on a case-by-case basis.  

6. Country of origin 

The products must come from a country free from CWD which is also a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formally OIE)

7. Contact for further information  

For more information about import requirements, contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) imports team:

Centre for International Trade - Carlisle
Eden Bridge House
Lowther Street
Carlisle
CA3 8DX

Email: [email protected] 

Telephone: 03000 200 301