2. Calves: By-products of the dairy industry 

Milk is produced in every single EU Member State. The EU is a major player in the world dairy market as the leading exporter of many dairy products. The EU dairy sector is the second biggest agricultural sector in the EU, representing more than 12% of total agricultural output (2018, EPRS). For some Member States, dairy production forms a very important part of agricultural economy. Total milk production in the EU is estimated around 156 million tonnes per year (data from 2017). The EU's main milk producers are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland and Italy, which together account for almost 70% of the EU production (Eurostat, 2019). In 2018, 22.9 million cows were used for dairy in the EU-28. Germany had the largest dairy cow population: 4.22 million, followed by France with 3.63 million cows and Poland with 2.2 million animals (2019, M. Ridder).

In order to produce as much milk as possible, each cow gives birth to one calf each year, but the technical coefficient often used is 0.9, to take losses into account. That means that around 23 million calves are born in the EU each year. About 35% of the calves are reared to replace the slaughtered cows. Male calves and the remaining female calves are redundant and have a very low financial value. The calves are separated from their mothers almost immediately after birth. They are reared with milk or milk replacer, progressively supplemented by a cereal-based concentrate starter ration and forage (hay, silage or straw) as a source of fibre. The age at which calves are weaned from milk diet differs according to the region or country. Most calves are weaned between 4 to 8 weeks of age. Female, dairy-type calves (Holstein/Friesian) are reared to become replacement heifers for the dairy herd. Some dairy-type and half - bred calves are reared for beef in intensive systems. Others, of a more extreme dairy type may be destined for veal production or killed as unwanted shortly after birth and before registration (EFSA, 2012).

According to Regulation (EC) 1/2005 calves are considered to be unfit for transport under the age of 10 days. Thus, dairy farmers have to keep the calves for 10 days, before the animals can be collected by handlers and transported to assembly centres. Keeping and feeding calves on the farm is a loss for the dairy farmer, especially when the calf is sick or underweight and it can be assumed that farmers do not invest in such animals. They are the by-product of milk production and their financial value is between 8 and 150 euros per calf. The price varies depending on country and demand.

The low financial value of these animals is the reason why many of them will be transported over long distances to intensive veal farms in European countries specialised in fattening for beef (like Spain) or to countries specialised in veal market (like the Netherlands) (see map below). In 2018, 1.5 million calves under 80 kg of weight were traded between the 28 EU Member States. The main importers were The Netherlands (importing 728 thousand of calves); Spain (455 thousand); Belgium (133 thousand) and Poland (71 thousand). On the other hand, the main exporters were Germany (exporting 665 thousand); France (247 thousand); Ireland (115 thousand) (Eurostat,2019). 

Furthermore, in the last 5 years (2014-2018), 23 thousand of calves weighing less than 80 kg were transported to third countries by ships, mainly to Israel, Lebanon and Egypt via the ports Slovenia, Spain and Croatia (Eurostat,2019). They are collected in the countries of origin on the milk-producing farms, for example in Lithuania, and transported by truck to the ports of southern Europe. There, they are loaded on livestock vessels and transported by sea for 5-7 days to the official destination countries, where they are loaded on trucks again. In April 2015, the European Court of Justice ruled that European animal welfare regulations should also be complied with when transporting animals outside EU borders. In practice, this is not controllable and animal welfare monitoring stops as soon as the animals enter the ship. No feedback on mortality rates is requested, so there are no official statistics on the number of animals that do not survive ship transport.

3. Findings from our investigations (2014-2018)

In the following chapter, the main problems documented by AWF|TSB in long-distance transports of calves within the EU are listed. In addition, the violated articles of the Regulation (EC) 1/2005 are added, as well as a brief description of the animal welfare problems and recommendations for improvements. The recommendations are based on the Regulation (EC) No 1/2005, as well as on scientific studies and letters of the European Commission. Several recommendations also refer to the “Guide to good practices for the Transport of young calves”, which has been published within the framework of a DG Sante project of the European Commission.

The summaries of each of 33 transports contain our observations and information gathered during the investigations from 2014 until 2018. The detailed reports of the investigations are available on request.

4. Responsibilities

Besides the fines imposed by the police, AWF|TSB sent letters of complaint and information to the National Contact Points of the European countries involved in the trade of calves. In addition, the European Commission has been informed about the regular violations of the Regulation (EC) No 1/2005. However, until today, the conditions of transported calves remain poor and improvements of animal welfare are urgently needed.

The violations of the Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 occur at different levels and fall under the responsibility of different parties. The infringements are related to the planning of journeys and their approval, as well as the approval of inappropriate vehicles for the long-distance transport of calves. In addition, infringements are related to loading and transport conditions, i.e. the direct handling of the animals, for which keepers, transporters and attendant/drivers are responsible. Furthermore, transporters and transport organisers are responsible for the welfare of the transported calves during the whole journey.

The main responsibility regarding the transport lies in the hands of the transport organiser and the transporter. However, documentation of AWF|TSB shows that in many cases economic considerations seem to play a larger role than the welfare of animals from which the transporters profit.

The fact that neither police fines, nor official complaints have led to any major improvements, shows that there is a general problem of enforcement of the Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 and that Article 25 (Penalties) is not being complied with. The problems in this regard start with the fact that the authorities at the place of destination frequently fail to notify the competent authorities at the place of departure about infringements found, this way failing to implement measures to remedy the breaches or prevent the recurrence of infringements according to Article 26 (Infringements and notification of infringements).

The lack of notifications between the member state of destination and the member state of departure contributes clearly to lack of enforcement of the Regulation.