Advertising non-medicinal veterinary products

You must follow these rules if you make, advertise, sell or supply products intended for use in, on, or near, animals in the UK.

Even if you think your product is not a medicine, you must read and follow this guidance before advertising, selling or supplying it in the UK.

Your product needs authorisation as a veterinary medicine before you can sell it if it:

Understanding ‘medicinal by presentation’

A product may be medicinal by presentation if you present it as having a beneficial effect or improvement on an animal’s health problems.

Prevention covers stopping harm to an animal’s health. For example, a vaccine would be considered a preventative medicine.

Likewise, a product which has the function of destroying parasites that may cause medical conditions would be considered a preventative medicine.

For example, products that kill fleas on animals are classified as medicines because fleas can cause flea allergic dermatitis.

Disease covers a broad range of conditions, including those caused by:

We use the term ‘adverse health condition’ to describe anything wrong with an animal’s health. This includes injuries that pose a significant risk to wellbeing or need more than basic care.