Exemption from authorisation for medicines for small pet animals

Posted: 6 June 2018 at 9:12 am

Certain medicines for small pet animals are exempt from the marketing authorisation requirements of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR) under Schedule 6.

Medicines for the following species are exempt provided the animals are kept exclusively as pets and are not intended to provide food for human consumption:

• aquarium animals (including only fish kept in closed water systems)
• cage birds (e.g. birds kept in cages or aviaries)
• homing pigeons (pigeons kept for racing or exhibition)
• terrarium animals (reptiles, amphibians and arthropods kept in tanks and cages – including animals free-living in domestic gardens)
• small rodents (domestic mammals of the order rodentia)
• ferrets
• rabbits

Exempted medicines can only contain active substances which have been approved for the purposes of this exemption by the Secretary of State.

The list of approved active ingredients for small animals can be found here.

For the full article, including medicines not included in the exemption, labelling requirements, pack sizes, manufacturing and supply and pharmacovigilance visit www.gov.uk