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The sterol content of faeces from humans and 14 species of animals common to rural or urban environments were examined. The major human faecal sterol was the 5β-stanol, coprostanol which constituted ≈ 60% of the total sterols found in human faeces. The sterol profiles of herbivores were dominated by C₂₉ sterols and 5β-stanols were generally in equal or greater abundance than 5α-stanols. The principal faecal biomarker of herbivores was 24-ethylcoprostanol. The sterol content of bird faeces was extremely variable and largely dependent on the animals diet. Both 5β and 5α stanols were in very low abundance in birds and dogs faeces from this study presumably due to the absence or low activity of the necessary anaerobic biota required to reduce Δ⁵- or Δ^5,22-sterols to stanols. Cats and pigs were the only animals that had similar faecal sterol profiles to humans. However, the concentration of the principal …