A ban on the import of calves into the Netherlands would be âdisappointingâ for Irish livestock farming, says the chairman of the Irish Farmersâ Association, Stephen Arthur. He says there are concerns in Ireland about the recently adopted motion by the Dutch House of Representatives.
In that motion by MP Leonie Vestering (PvdD), the cabinet is called upon to end calf imports from Ireland.
Arthur points out in the Irish media that no timeline has yet been set for a possible ban. According to him, it is currently unclear what action the Dutch government might undertake. Moreover, he notes that the Netherlands will go to the polls at the end of November, which could lead to a change of government. This increases uncertainty about the impact of the motion.
In total, in the first 25 weeks of this year, 195,360 Irish dairy calves were exported from Ireland, of which more than half went to the Netherlands. The export of Irish calves to the Netherlands reached 103,489 in the first half of 2023, an increase of 10% compared to the same period in 2022, which was just over 94,000.
In recent years, there has been growing criticism of the way Irish calves are transported by ship across the sea to a port in northern France, and from there by trucks to the Netherlands. Each year there is also trouble regarding the manner in which the animals are unloaded at their resting place in France.
Stephen Arthur told the Irish Examiner that he visited the Netherlands last September and saw that âour calves arrive there very robust.â He also pointed out that the Irish calves raised on Dutch farms require less antibiotics than calves raised there from other countries.
Moreover, for Irish calf exports, an upcoming update of European animal welfare laws could significantly disrupt matters. This includes provisions such as shorter maximum travel times for animal transport. It appears that many additions to this European legislation will be postponed for the time being.
Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski said last week that proposals regarding reform of animal welfare will be presented in the coming weeks. These will only address âanimal welfare during transportâ.
A potential ban on calf exports would have a âmajor impactâ on Irish farms, said Arthur. It would mean that the Irish themselves would need to accommodate an additional 100,000 calves. Irish farmers also have to take into account that there is a new first vice-president of the European Commission, Slovak Maros Sefcovic, who oversees all Green Deal proposals.