Animals 2022, 12, 1450. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12111450 www.mdpi.com/journal/animals Review Insects as Feed for Companion and Exotic Pets: A Current Trend Fabrizzio Valdés † , Valeria Villanueva † , Emerson Durán, Francisca Campos, Constanza Avendaño, Manuel Sánchez, Chaneta Domingoz‐Araujo and Carolina Valenzuela * Departamento de Fomento de la Producción Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Santa Rosa 11.735, La Pintana, Santiago 8320000, Chile; fabrizziovaldesr@gmail.com (F.V.); valeria.villanueva@ug.uchile.cl (V.V.); emerson.duran@ug.uchile.cl (E.D.); f.campos@hotmail.cl (F.C.); constanza.avendano@ug.uchile.cl (C.A.); manuel.sanchez@ug.uchile.cl (M.S.); chanetaaraujo@gmail.com (C.D.‐A.) * Correspondence: cvalenzuelav@u.uchile.cl; Tel.: +56‐2‐29785676 † Both authors contributed equally to the paper and are first authors. Simple Summary: Currently, there is a wide variety of insect‐based pet foods and treats; however, there are several questions about the nutritional contribution of insects for dogs and cats, their health effects, safety aspects and the legal framework for their use as ingredients or feed. The insect‐ based ingredients used are mainly meal and fat from black soldier fly larvae, mealworm larvae and adult house crickets. There are few studies on the use of insects as food ingredients for pets, and most of them have studied some aspects in dogs. It has been said that they do not affect health, are well accepted and tolerated, do not alter the microbiota and could have the potential to be used as hypoallergenic ingredients. Insects provide a high nutritional value, with a high content of protein and amino acids with good digestibility for dogs. In cats, there is scarce information and more stud‐ ies are needed. In exotic pets, their use is generalized. Dog owners are willing to use insects as in‐ gredients, but in processed formats such as meal or as part of food or treats. Future research should focus on safety issues and effects on the health, nutrition and feeding behavior of traditional pets, such as dogs and cats. Abstract: The objective of this review was to carry out a comprehensive investigation of the benefits of incorporating insects as a pet food ingredient and the implications this can have in determining a market demand for insect‐based pet foods. Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens), mealworm larvae (Tenebrio molitor) and adult house crickets (Acheta domesticus) are currently used in pet food. These insects are widely fed to exotic pets, mainly in whole, live or dehydrated formats. They are also incorporated as meal or fat and are offered to cats and dogs as dry or wet food and treats. Scientific studies about the use of insects for dog and cat feed are scarce. Most studies are in dogs. Research shows that insect nutrients, mainly amino acids, have high digestibility, are beneficial to health, do not have any detrimental effect on the gut microbiota and are accepted by dogs. In several countries, insects are approved for use in pet food and commercialization has spread throughout the world. Pet owners are willing to try foods made with insect meal for their pets. In conclusion, the use of insects in pet food is a reality that is taking on more and more prominence. Keywords: insect; companion animal; exotic pet; pet food; health; nutrition 1. Introduction Pet ownership is increasing globally, and estimates suggest that over 50% of all households own a cat or dog [1]. This trend is due to several factors such as higher income, demographic change in terms of family size, people living alone, increased life expec‐ tancy, urbanization and pet humanization [2]. Consequently, pet food is now one of the Citation: Valdés, F.; Villanueva, V.; Durán, E.; Campos, F.; Avendaño, C.; Sánchez, M.; Domingoz‐Araujo, C.; Valenzuela, C. Insects as Feed for Companion and Exotic Pets: A Current Trend. Animals 2022, 12, 1450. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani 12111450 Academic Editor: Giacomo Biagi Received: 27 April 2022 Accepted: 31 May 2022 Published: 3 June 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neu‐ tral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu‐ tional affiliations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Li‐ censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and con‐ ditions of the Creative Commons At‐ tribution (CC BY) license (https://cre‐ ativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).