A proposed ban on the transport of unweaned calves under the age of five weeks may ultimately lead to animal welfare issues on farms themselves, as well as job losses in rural Ireland, Irish MEPs have warned.
Fine Gael MEP Colm Markey (Ireland Midlands-Northwest) and Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher (Ireland South) were reacting to a vote in the European Parliament’s Committee on Inquiry on the Protection of Animals During Transport (ANIT) today (Thursday, December 2).
This vote saw the adoption of a report into animal transport, which contained a recommendation to end transport for unweaned calves in this age group.
Markey said that he supported many of the proposals reached by the committee, but was concerned over the “last-minute amendment to ban the transport of unweaned animals under five weeks”.
“The initial proposal of four weeks would have proved challenging, but a change to five weeks will see a backlog of calves on farms, which could lead to animal welfare issues – something which goes completely against the aims of the committee,” Markey warned.
He spoke more positively about some other aspects of the final report, saying: “The fact that a limitation on journey times was rejected recognises that we need to get tougher with the existing rules.
“We have seen many examples of breaches of animal welfare standards and the committee is sending out a clear message that stricter enforcement is required to deal with the laggards as opposed to setting new bars, which would be harder to implement,” Markey added.
Kelleher, meanwhile, highlighted the jobs issue.
He noted that, as well as banning transport for calves under 35 days (five weeks), the report also calls for a two-hour travel time limit for unweaned animals over 35 days; and a ban on transport of in-calf cows in the last third of gestation.
“Quite simply, if adopted by the full parliament and taken on-board by the commission when drawing up the new regulation, it would sound a death knell for thousands of jobs in rural Ireland,” Kelleher argued.
The proposals were put forward by MEPs from various EU green parties.
“The ‘greens’ have driven a ‘coach-and-four’ through the very fabric of rural Ireland with these proposals.”
Kelleher also claimed that, if Irish farmers and transporters are banned from transporting calves to mainland Europe, it will “be an attack on the principles underpinning the European Single Market”.
The Fianna Fáil MEP said he would table alternative proposals when the report came up for debate in the next full session of the European Parliament.
The ANIT Committee was established last year to investigate alleged breaches of EU animal welfare rules during transport. Its recommendations are set to go to a full vote of the European Parliament in January.