Full title: Opinion of the FRCAW on the effects of transport on the welfare of calves under five weeks of age
Requested by: Animal Welfare Office (BBEA) of the General Directorate for Food (DGAL), French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
Date delivered by the FRCAW: 22/10/2025
Date of publication in English: 13/02/2026
DOI: 10.17180/hgr3-8h97
Context
In December 2023, the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation on the protection of animals during transport to replace Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005. This new text proposes regulatory transport conditions based on the recommendations in the European Food Safety Authority’s opinion on the welfare of cattle during transport, with specific recommendations concerning the transport of calves (EFSA AHAW Panel, 2022). The new regulatory proposal would increase the minimum age for the transport of calves to five weeks, whereas the minimum age is currently set from 10 days (for journeys over 100 km) to 14 days (for journeys lasting more than 8 hours).
To support its arguments during European discussions, the Animal Welfare Office of the DGAL has asked the FRCAW to answer the following question: ‘What are the welfare consequences of transporting calves under five weeks of age?’ This report by the FRCAW synthesises the key points in the EFSA opinion, to which is added a comprehensive analysis of the scientific literature not cited in the EFSA opinion, particularly studies that have been published since 2022.
Main conclusions of the FRCAW
In Europe, calves are generally transported at the age of 2 to 4 weeks, a sensitive stage in their lives during which their own immune systems have not yet developed and their thermoregulatory capacities are limited. For such animals, transport conditions are likely to increase fatigue, stress, dehydration, the development of disease and mortality.
This vulnerability decreases with age. Two-week-old calves are more vulnerable than four-week-old calves, who in turn are more vulnerable than six-month-old calves, whose immune systems have reached maturity. Furthermore, navel healing, which is a regulatory prerequisite for the transport of calves, is complete only at 3 to 4 weeks of age.
Throughout this report, the recommendations for the transport of unweaned calves formulated either in the EFSA opinion or by other authors are reiterated. Studies in the literature emphasise the need for good management of colostrum intake from birth to promote the transfer of passive immunity. They also stress that sufficient energy must be provided to calves by offering them milk replacer 4 hours before transport, and that the total journey duration should be limited to 8 hours.
