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- Pet Meat Processing Licence
Pet Meat Processing Licence
What you need to know about a Pet Meat Processing Facility (Knackery) licence.
Summary
- The law requires you to have a licence to slaughter animals to sell their meat for pet meat consumption.
- A pet meat processing facility is a facility that slaughters horses, donkeys or other consumable animals that are not for human consumption.
- A pet meat processing facility is commonly known as a knackery.
What you can do with a Pet Meat Processing Facility licence
Get a Pet Meat Processing Facility licence to:
- slaughter consumable animals to sell their meat for pet food
- process meat from animals you have slaughtered and/or processed for wholesale or retail sale as pet food
- store meat from animals you have slaughtered and/or processed for wholesale or retail sale as pet food
- sell meat from animals you have slaughtered and/or processed for wholesale or retail sale as pet food
- render inedible by-products from animals you have slaughtered or processed
- receive and process game carcasses for pet food.
PrimeSafe issues this licence under the Meat Industry Act 1993.
What you can’t do with a Pet Meat Processing Facility licence
You cannot:
- slaughter consumable animals for human consumption (get an Abattoir licence).
- slaughter poultry for human consumption (get a Poultry Processing Facility licence).
- slaughter game (see Game Meat Processing licences).
- process meat for human consumption (get a Further Meat Processing Facility licence).
- render prime tallow for human consumption (get a Prime Tallow Processing Facility).
PrimeSafe licence conditions require all meat processing facilities to comply with relevant Australian and Victorian standards, and guidelines.
The Standard for the Hygienic Production of Pet Meat (PISC Technical Report 88 – Amended 2009) describes the requirements for processing pet food.
When we give you a licence, you need to meet the licence conditions. Get help from us if you don’t understand your licence conditions.
There are things your business needs to do before we can give you a licence. To learn about preparing your business before you apply and how to apply, read Apply for a licence.
Read our factsheet to learn more about pet meat processing and requirements.
Pet Meat Processing facilities are audited in the first week after opening and then every week until their Quality Assurance Program is fully implemented. Pet meat processing facilities are then audited every six months.
Audits are conducted by a PrimeSafe approved auditor.
Find out about Audits.
There is an application fee when you apply for a new licence.
There is an annual fee to hold a licence that you pay each year in June.
There are other charges when you hold a licence with PrimeSafe.
You may have to pay a fine if you do not meet your licence conditions.
PrimeSafe follows the Department of Treasury and Finance’s guideline for setting fees and charges.
Our current fees
The current fees for a Pet Meat Processing Facility licence are:
- $1,324 – Application fee
- $2,648 – Annual fee.
Calculate the total cost to apply today for a licence
To apply for a Pet Meat Processing facility licence you need to pay:
- the application fee (paid once only)
- the licence fee (paid when you first apply and then every year in June).
The amount you pay when you apply depends upon the time left until the licence is renewed in June (pro rata).
Use the Fee Calculator to see what you will pay today to apply for a licence.
All PrimeSafe fees are GST exempt so we will not give you a tax invoice when you pay.
Fee Calculator
Standards and guidelines that apply
This standard contains the minimum requirements for hygiene in harvesting, transportation, processing, identification, packaging and storage of pet meat, to ensure a safe and acceptable product.
We're here to help
Send us your questions and we'll get back to you in two to seven business days.
