Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using insect protein in pelleted chicken and pig feed.

Animal feed legislation permits the use of insects in animal feed, however, its use is subject to the requirements of both the Animal by Product (ABP) and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) Regulations which restrict the use of certain feeds.

In the United Kingdom it is currently permissible to use live invertebrates as chicken or pig feed as they do not fall within the scope of these controls, but pellets are currently not permissible in Great Britain. The potential merits and uses for insect protein as a livestock feed (including for chickens and pigs) is currently being considered by Government.