Bord Bia will work to establish a “fair and reasonable” threshold for the slaughter of calves early in the new year.
It was announced during the 2023 National Ploughing Championships that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and Bord Bia, had entered into a data sharing agreement so that the latter could use data on which farms were sending calves to slaughter.
The purpose of this is to allow Bord Bia can use its quality assurance (QA) schemes – such as the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) – to introduce criteria to limit slaughter of calves coming from QA farms.
The first data transfer from the department is expected to take place before the end of January, a Bord Bia spokesperson told Agriland.
The food board will then analyse that data, with input from animal health experts, to assess the slaughter rates and determine a “fair and reasonable” threshold.
Any threshold will then be reviewed on an annual basis as “numerous external factors can potentially impact on slaughter rates in any given year”, Bord Bia said.
It has previously said that it expects to carry out around 9,000 SDAS renewal audits next year and several “spot audits”.
Last month, Bord Bia informed farmers that new SDAS criteria will come into effect on January 1.
It warned farmers that if they do not comply with new criteria set out for the SDAS – which prohibits the slaughter of healthy calves – they may face suspension from the QA scheme.
According to Bord Bia, if “non-compliance” is detected in relation to the new criteria, it will then “audit the farm within the following 12 months”.
The organisation notified farmers that they must meet additional new criteria from next January “as part of their commitment to ensuring high standards of animal welfare”.
Bord Bia told farmers who are members of SDAS that it is “prohibited to slaughter healthy calves” within the first eight weeks of their life either via:
- On-farm slaughter;
- An approved slaughterhouse;
- Any other intentional off-farm movement for the purpose of slaughter.
Though not illegal, it is considered bad practice in the industry to slaughter a large number of young calves, and dairy sector stakeholders have been working over the last 12 months to determine how to address the issue.