The Netherlands’ ministry of agriculture has warned four Irish calf exporters that they have one year to comply with what it terms as new milk feeding requirements during transport or they will face fines.

A spokesperson for the Dutch ministry told the Irish Farmers Journal that unweaned calves “must always receive the necessary care and nutrition throughout the entire transport process”, as they claimed “currently, this is not happening”.

“The trucks were not equipped to provide such feeding, creating serious animal welfare risks,” the ministry said of inspections carried out on four calf exporters.

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“We are now taking enforcement action regarding the entire transport operation from Ireland to the Netherlands by these four Irish carriers by imposing an order subject to a penalty payment for the failure to feed the calves.”

The spokesperson said that the move was taken on foot of advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which states that the interval between two milk feeds must not exceed 12 hours.

“Our investigation established that calves require milk feeding not only while at sea, but also during the leg of the journey from the rest stop in France to the Netherlands.

“The order subject to a penalty payment means that compliance with this obligation is required within one year.

“If the violation is detected again after that period, the penalty payment must be made.”

Previous concern

The EFSA recommendation that unweaned calves go no longer than 12 hours between milk feeds is one that has cropped up on the Irish Department of Agriculture’s desk previously.

An EU audit of Irish calf exports carried out in June 2022 saw the Department and the European Commission at odds over interpretations of EU rules as an aside to inspections that overall found a system of “comprehensive procedures” were in place to safeguard animal welfare during calf exports.

Ireland stated that it did not see the recommendation creating a “legal obligation” to feed unweaned calves on ferry journeys from Ireland to neighbouring member states.

The Department’s response to the audit argued that “nothing in the wording” of EU regulations sets out a legal obligation to enforce this interval, as it only applies when “necessary” to avoid injury or undue suffering.

Irish regulations already rule out any transport that would cause injury or undue suffering, it had said.

The Department had also defended the allowance of an extra one to two hours of journey time, stating that it would reduce the number of calf unloadings at lairages, which it said would cut down on the risk of disease transmission and stress during these occasions.