Making animal feed from earthworms

A question about making animal feed by farming and breeding earthworms, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that feeding poultry and animals worms and insects is unobjectionable provided experts confirm it does not harm people, and set out the difference between the majority and the Shafi'is over dead ones. ¹

The questioner asked about the ruling on making animal feed by farming and breeding earthworms. ¹

The Department answered that jurists agree there is no objection to feeding birds and animals live worms and insects, since they are pure, quoting Ibn Qasim al-Ghazzi in Fath al-Qarib that every animal is pure except the dog, the pig and what is born of them, which includes worms born from impurity. ¹ It said that feeding them dead worms and insects is unobjectionable according to the majority of jurists, quoting Ibn Qudama in al-Mughni that creatures without flowing blood, such as worms, do not become impure by death, and noted that the Shafi'is consider it disliked. ¹ It said that adding worms to feed depends on the amount: if the feed is entirely or mostly made of worms it is disliked because of their impurity, quoting Ibn Hajar al-Haytami in Tuhfat al-Muhtaj that feeding an edible animal something impure is disliked; if the amount is small and the pure ingredients predominate, there is no objection. ¹ It concluded that feeding poultry and animals worms and insects is unobjectionable provided experts confirm it does not harm people; if harm is established, it becomes forbidden. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4015, dated 23 October 2025. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.