Calves shipped from Ireland go 50 hours without milk, NVWA says

The Dutch food and product safety authority NVWA is taking enforcement action against four Irish livestock transporters over the treatment of very young calves shipped to the Netherlands, broadcaster NOS reported on Thursday.

The calves are given almost nothing to drink during a journey of at least 50 hours, which breaches EU animal welfare rules, the NVWA said. The transporters have been given a year to change their working methods or face financial penalties.

The animals, mostly bull calves under two months old, are loaded onto trucks in Ireland and put on a ferry to France. After a 19-hour crossing they are unloaded to rest and drink, then driven on to the Netherlands.

EU rules say animals must be fed during transport where “necessary”, which the European Commission and the NVWA interpret as at least every 12 hours. The Irish authorities disagree and have not intervened.

According to the NVWA, the trucks have no drinking systems suitable for milk, and calves of this age have to be helped to drink. The Irish government has itself said that is “practically impossible” on the ferry.

“That means the animals can no longer go directly from Ireland via France to the Netherlands in one go,” NVWA inspector Annebeth van Aartsen told NOS. “The transport would have to be organised differently.”

The Dutch veal sector said earlier it wanted to stop the Irish imports in 2026 because of the suffering involved, but a NOS investigation this year found the transports were still going on.

The NVWA had previously said it could not act because most of the violations take place at sea, outside Dutch jurisdiction. The action follows an enforcement request by animal welfare groups Eyes on Animals and Dier&Recht.