Key Takeaways
- ▸The EU processed 18.3 million tonnes of animal by-products in 2025, up 7.6% year-on-year.
- ▸Category 3 material totaled 13.4 million tonnes, the class allowed in pet food and feed.
- ▸Output included 2.8 million tonnes of animal fats and 4.1 million tonnes of protein.
- ▸Pet-food PAP rose 11% to 2.3 million tonnes; aquafeed PAP jumped 17.5%.
- ▸Around 255 facilities and 463 processing lines keep Europe's rendering system running.
EUROPE PET FOOD WATCH · Nº 5
At its annual congress, EFPRA put a number on the machine that quietly underwrites European pet food: the continent processed 18.3 million tonnes of animal by-products in 2025, up 7.6% — the raw material behind millions of bowls.
This is the circular economy working at industrial scale. Of that 18.3 million tonnes, 13.4 million were Category 3 — from animals passed fit for human consumption — the class that can legally become pet food, feed and fats. Out the other end came 2.8 million tonnes of animal fats and 4.1 million tonnes of processed animal protein.
Follow the fastest-growing streams and you find the demand story: pet-food PAP rose 11% to 2.3 million tonnes, and aquafeed PAP jumped 17.5% to 348,000 tonnes as fish farmers swap in land-animal proteins. Roughly 255 facilities and 463 processing lines keep the whole system running.
Why the trend matters
Every tonne of by-product upcycled into feed is a tonne that does not go to waste — and a growing, documented outlet for exactly the CAT 3 raw materials that origins like Brazil supply into Europe.
The 4DW Angle
These are the streams our pet food and rendering lines live in. A European by-product sector growing at 7-18% a year is a market pulling harder on imported CAT 3 raw material — spec-consistent, fully traceable, EU-listed. That is precisely the lane our plant was built to serve.
▮ Frequently asked questions
How much animal by-product does Europe process each year?
Europe processed 18.3 million tonnes of animal by-products in 2025, up 7.6% year-on-year, according to EFPRA. Of that, 13.4 million tonnes were Category 3 material. The output included 2.8 million tonnes of animal fats and 4.1 million tonnes of processed animal protein for feed, pet food and aquafeed.
What is Category 3 animal by-product material?
Category 3 is by-product from animals passed fit for human consumption - the class that can legally become pet food, animal feed and fats. In 2025, 13.4 million of the EU's 18.3 million tonnes of processed by-products were Category 3, the raw material behind millions of pet-food bowls.
Which by-product streams grew fastest in 2025?
Aquafeed processed animal protein grew fastest, jumping 17.5% to 348,000 tonnes as fish farmers swapped in land-animal proteins. Pet-food PAP rose 11% to 2.3 million tonnes, and total processed animal protein climbed 10% to 4.1 million tonnes, per EFPRA's 2025 figures.
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