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Trade with or move products from animals within the EU (except food or breeding material)

If you trade products within the EU, or as a private individual send products or take products with you between countries, there are rules that you must follow.

Animal products can spread contagious disease if they have not been processed or treated sufficiently or have been reinfected after processing or treatment. The infections can cause diseases such as salmonella, African swine fever, bird flu and anthrax. The risks are greatest if infected products are intentionally or unintentionally used as feed or otherwise come into contact with animals. This can have major consequences if certain diseases spread. Therefore, there are rules that you must follow regardless of whether you are trading commercially or as a private individual.

To avoid problems when importing products from other countries, it is important that you find out exactly what applies well in advance.

Exceptions to the infection control rules

The infection control rules do not apply to items that are considered finished products, such as leather goods, down pillows and fur coats, and jewellery made from, for example, bones or teeth.

Products that have reached a so-called end point are no longer covered by the legislation on animal by-products. This can be, for example, processed pet food that is labelled according to the requirements of EU legislation when traded within the EU. Other products with an end point can be hides and skins, wool and hair, feathers and down, and fur if certain conditions are met.

Keep in mind that there may be species protection regulations that you must follow.

Bringing in products from animals from other EU countries

If you bring in products with animal content (except food or breeding material) to Sweden from other EU countries as well as from Norway and Switzerland, the same rules generally apply as for products transported within Sweden.

Specially regulated products

Special rules apply to the following products when you bring them in from another EU Member State or from Norway or Switzerland:

  • Category 1 material
  • Category 2 material
  • Meat-and-bone meal produced from Category 1 or Category 2 material
  • Animal fat produced from Category 1 or Category 2 material
  • Processed animal protein (i.e. products that have been produced from Category 3, such as meat- or bonemeal, fish meal or blood meal).

The reason is that these products can be infectious or be used incorrectly in the feed chain.

In order to be allowed to bring in products in the above four points to Sweden, the user in the country of origin must notify its authority and apply for approval from the Swedish Board of Agriculture. The sender applies for approval on a special form. The form is available in all EU languages but should preferably be submitted in Swedish or English. The application for approval must have been received by the Board of Agriculture at the latest 20 days before the consignment arrives in Sweden. If the application is sent in another language than Swedish or English, the processing time will be extended. The form is available in Annex XVI of Regulation (EU) No 142/2011.

The consignor must enter all information about the consignment in Traces.

When the consignment has arrived, a registration must be made in Traces confirming the arrival. This requires established procedures between the consignee and the Swedish Board of Agriculture.

In some cases, after consultation with us, you may be allowed to register the shipments you receive in Traces yourself.

Samples for research and diagnostics

There are special rules for material for research and diagnostics. You can read more about the rules on the page on research and diagnostics.

Bringing animal products to other countries

If you send or bring products with animal content (except food or breeding material) to other EU countries, Norway and Switzerland from Sweden, the same rules apply as for products transported within Sweden. However, the commercial document must be in accordance with the standardized template and there are certain additional requirements for labelling.

Read more on the pages about commercial documents and transport of products from animals.

Products that may pose a risk of infection or end up in the feed chain

Some products are subject to special, stricter rules because they may pose a risk of infection or end up in the feed chain. These are

  • category 1 material
  • category 2 material
  • meat-and-bone meal produced from category 1 or category 2 material
  • animal fat produced from category 1 or category 2 material
  • processed animal protein (i.e. products that have been produced from category 3, such as, for example meat-and-bone meal, fish meal or blood meal).

For products covered by the first four points, you must as sender notify the Swedish Board of Agriculture about your plans in good time before you dispatch any products. You must also apply for an import permit with the authority of the country of destination. This application shall be made on a special form in Annex XVI of the Regulation (EU) No. 142/2011.

The form is available in all EU languages, but you should submit it in the language of the country of destination. If you submit the form in the language of the country of destination, the authorities have 20 days in which to decide on authorisation and any conditions. If often works as well with English, and our neighbouring countries usually accept Swedish. But find out about the language requirements as the processing time may otherwise be prolonged.

For all products in the bullet list, it is required that you as consignor register every consignment in Traces. You do this by entering all information about the consignment in Traces DOCOM. This is the information required in a commercial document. You can then print the commercial document and let it accompany the consignment.

When the consignment has arrived, the authorities in the country of destination shall verify this and enter a confirmation in the system which the authority that is responsible for performing control at your establishment can access. If it has not been confirmed that the consignment has arrived, the authorities shall do an investigation.

If you are going to send category 3 animal by-products from a slaughter house, which are to go to a processing plant in the EU or Norway or Switzerland, you must in certain cases be included in a special list that can be reached via the EU Commission’s website. This applies if the processing plant intends to make processed animal protein to be used in feed for farmed animals. The recipient establishment must be able to ensure that your establishment does not slaughter certain animal species including ruminants or handle material from such animals. Contact the Swedish Board of Agriculture if this is the case. After that the Swedish Board of Agriculture contacts the Swedish Food Agency, where we ensure that your establishment complies with the requirements, we will then include your establishment on the list that the Commission links to.

You can read more about the requirements in Chapter IV D in Annex IV of the TSE regulation. Special authorisation is required if your food establishment handles material from ruminants and you still wish to send on animal by-products for this type of feed purpose. You must also be able to show that material from ruminants is kept separate from the material you are intending to send. Please contact the Swedish Board of Agriculture if this is the case.

Questions and answers

What rules apply for trading with seal products?

By seals is meant all species included in the animal group seals (Pinnipedia). This group consists of three families:

  • eared seals (Otariidae)
  • earless seals (Phocidae)
  • walruses (Odobenidae)

According to the EU seal regulation, trading with seal products is prohibited in the EU. By seal products is meant all products coming from seals, such as:

  • meat
  • oil
  • blubber
  • organs
  • untreated skin and skin that is tanned or preserved in another way
  • clothing items including parts of treated skin
  • omega 3 capsules
  • tusks

Seal products that you may sell

Seal products that originate from traditional hunting engaged in by inuits and other indigenous populations can be sold if all these conditions are met:

  • Hunting has been traditionally pursued by inuit communities or other indigenous populations.
  • Hunting contributes to the indigenous population’s subsistence and is not primarily operated on a commercial basis.
  • Hunting is pursued in a way that takes into account animal protection taking into account the life style of inuit communities or indigenous population.
  • A certified issued by an approved body accompanies the product.

You may also sell products from seals shot in Sweden before 18 October 2015 if you have a certificate from the county administrative board.

Authorities that may issue certificates

There are currently only three approved authorities:

  • Greenland’s Department of Fishing, Hunting and Agriculture (Postboks 269, 3900 NUUK, Greenland)
  • Department of Environment, Government of Nunavut (P.O. Box 1000, Stn. 1300, Iqaluit, NU X0A 0H0, Canada)
  • The Canadian Government in the Northwest Territories (P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9, Canada)

It is possible to apply to the EU Commission to be approved.

Import of seal products for own use

Import of seal products is permitted if it is only concerns goods which are for the personal user of the traveller or the traveller’s family. The products may not have such an extent as to raise suspicions that there is a commercial motive.

What rules apply for furs and cat and dog skins?

Furs and cat and dog skins and products that contain the same may not be:

  • stored for sale
  • advertised
  • sold
  • distributed.

This applies both in Sweden and in other EU Member States, and the products may not either be imported or exported.

What type of feed may I as a private person take with home from abroad?

As a private person, you may bring in all types of feed, regardless of weight from all EU Member States and from Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino and Switzerland. From Greenland and the Faroe Islands you are allowed to bring in a maximum of 10 kilograms.

In the case of feed with animal content from other countries, you may only bring pet food, and only if it is required for health reasons and provided that it is not more than 2 kilos, under the conditions that the products

  • are intended for the pet accompanying the passenger
  • are shelf-stable
  • are packaged proprietary brand products for direct sale to the final consumer
  • that the packaging is unbroken unless in current use.

Can I bring my dead pet home for burial?

If you want to bring the body from another country, you must apply for a permit from the Swedish Board of Agriculture. However, if you want to bring ashes with you, there are no special requirements. You can then handle the ashes in the same way as if the cremation had taken place in Sweden.

Contact us if you have questions

Please e-mail us if you have questions.

Legislation

Söker efter grundforeskrifter:
2006:84


Revision date: 2026-02-12