Document type: DG (SANTE) audit report published on the European Commission
Author: DG Santé – European Commission
Preview: The report describes the outcome of a two-year Commission project looking at Member States' approaches to ensuring the protection of unweaned calves during long-distance transport. The rules for transporting unweaned calves over long journeys are stricter compared to those for other animals. Competent authorities recognise these animals as vulnerable and acknowledge the higher risk associated with their transport. However, inconsistencies in categorisation, documentation and enforcement create challenges for effective oversight.
Authorities generally ensure adequate verification of planning and compliance with journey times and resting periods, but enforcement varies.
The lack of a clear, harmonised and legally binding approach to defining and recording whether a calf is unweaned complicates official controls, their verification and analysis and hinders enforcement. In practice, authorities can use the age (under two months old) and weight (around 50 kg or not more than 80 kg) of the calves as proxies, but without standardised documentation, verification remains difficult.
Ensuring adequate hydration during transport remains a challenge, as drinking systems on vehicles are often unsuitable for unweaned calves. While the feeding of calves at control posts and final destinations is generally adequate, feeding practices at departure and during transit are less clearly regulated. The use of electrolyte solutions (which aid hydration but lack nutritional value) instead of milk replacers reduces some health risks but does not fulfil the requirement of nourishing the calves every nine hours.
Journey logs play a crucial role in monitoring compliance, but their effectiveness is limited by incomplete record-keeping and a lack of real-time verification. Transit and destination authorities often lack access to journey log data, making it difficult to confirm adherence to travel and rest time requirements.
Mortality rates of calves during transport in the EU are low. However, gaps in vehicle categorisation, verification of fitness for transport, and enforcement at assembly centers can create risks for calf welfare.
Transport by ferry presents additional challenges, particularly due to prolonged fasting periods. For journeys involving long ferry legs, calves are not fed at the required intervals.
The report highlights areas where Member States' authorities could strengthen official control systems to better enforce protection for calves during long journeys.
