The future of surplus dairy calves – an animal welfare perspective

Abstract

An important obstacle toward sustainably produced animal-source food is the existence of so-called ‘surplus animals’, which are by-products of the production of dairy products and eggs, and ‘unwanted’ due to their perceived low value. Although this depends on the country, in Europe many surplus dairy calves are transported to veal farms to be raised for 6 months until slaughter. The aim of this article is to present ideas for alternative future systems for the dairy-veal chain, including an overview of current challenges and improvement strategies for calf welfare. This dairy-veal chain presents a number of potential concerns for calf welfare, including transportation of young animals, high risk of disease and barren housing. Many incremental changes have been suggested in past literature to lift the welfare of veal calves, including reducing transportation, transporting calves at an older age, better health screening, and pens with enrichment and bedding. The Netherlands is at the centre of the veal sector import-export flow in Europe and is one of the main veal producers in the world. The Dutch government has recently presented a report with three alternative ‘scenarios’ for the raising of these surplus dairy calves, which are expected to lead to improvements in animals welfare. The first scenario is a restriction on transport of <100km, leading to more local production of dairy-veal. The second scenario is a delay on the transportation of surplus calves from 2 weeks to 3 months of age, handing dairy farmers a much larger role in the raising of these calves. This delay would ensure that calves are more robust and less vulnerable to disease at the time that they are transported to the veal farm. The third scenario proposes an alternative system, where the veal sector is eradicated and surplus dairy calves are raised at the dairy farm of origin until slaughter. We, like others before us, question the impact of small incremental changes on calf welfare, arguing that improvements at one end could potentially lead to worsening of welfare at the other end, and prefer to focus on system changes, such as the use of dual-purpose cattle breeds. We do not however believe that system changes can be created and implemented with the sole input of animal welfare scientists. This work is hence just one piece of the puzzle towards the sustainable production of milk and meat, and more specifically the sustainable rearing of surplus calves.

Are regulations addressing farm animal welfare issues during live transportation fit for purpose? A multi-country jurisdictional check

“…Animals are also often transported to auctions before being further transported to slaughter or fattening facilities (e.g. veal calves [ 8 ]). For broiler chickens, transportation will happen twice in their lives (i.e.…”

“…Transportation is a stressful experience for animals (e.g. for cattle [ 8 ]); in most cases, animals are prevented from drinking, eating and resting during transport which can be very long. For example, in Canada, some animals (e.g.…”

Decoding calf patterns : Advancing automated health monitoring with algorithmic insights

“…Most female calves will be kept as heifers for the dairy industry, while the male (and some female) calves are not needed. The veal industry was therefore developed (mainly in Europe and North America) to make use of the dairy calves that are not wanted or needed for herd replacement, commonly referred to as 'surplus' calves.Although there are a number of possible routes for surplus dairy calves (Haskell, 2020;Webb et al, 2023), those calves destined for veal production are typically transported from different source dairy farms, sometimes across country borders, at the early age of around two to four weeks to a fattening veal farm (Marcato et al, 2018). At the veal farm, the calves are grouphoused, typically in small groups of five to ten, but sometimes in large groups of 40 to 70 calves, with typically 1.8 m 2 per calf, on wooden slatted floors.…”

“…These calves are transported from their source dairy farms all across Europe to the collection centres first, where they are sorted based on weight, breed, or conformation, before being sent to the fattening farms (Damiaans et al, 2019). This dairyveal chain presents potential concerns for calf welfare, including transportation of young animals, high risk of disease, and barren housing (Webb et al, 2023). One important concern for the farmers in this production system is the high morbidity (Sandelin et al, 2022) and high mortality rates (…”

“…Although there are a number of possible routes for surplus dairy calves (Haskell, 2020;Webb et al, 2023), those calves destined for veal production are typically transported from different source dairy farms, sometimes across country borders, at the early age of around two to four weeks to a fattening veal farm (Marcato et al, 2018). At the veal farm, the calves are grouphoused, typically in small groups of five to ten, but sometimes in large groups of 40 to 70 calves, with typically 1.8 m 2 per calf, on wooden slatted floors.…”