Calf exports must be conducted to the highest humane standards

The NFU is asking potential calf exporters to give written assurances that calves from Britain will only be exported to rearing units that comply with the new EU calf welfare regulations, when the trade resumes next week.

The EU regulations, which will apply to all calf rearing units as from January 1 2007 but which have already been widely adopted and are in legal force in the Netherlands, outlaw the use of veal crates and require calves to be reared in groups.

An NFU spokesman said that the resumption of the export trade would provide a much-needed market for dairy-bred calves, but that it was vital that it was conducted to the highest possible standards, both for the welfare of the calves and to allay public concern.

"The resumption of the export trade in live calves, whilst very welcome from a farming point of view, is bound to be controversial and it is essential that it is conducted with the maximum transparency and to the highest possible standards.

"That is why we are asking potential exporters to give an assurance that calves will only be exported to units that comply with the new EU Regulations, and are encouraging them to be as open and transparent as possible about their operations."

The NFU is also publishing a leaflet – "Calf exports – your questions answered" – explaining why the trade is important to farmers, the standards that will apply to the transport and the rearing of the calves and how the welfare of the animals will be monitored and enforced.

It argues that there is nothing inherently wrong or cruel either about rearing calves for veal, or about moving them from the part of Europe where they are born, to another part of Europe, where they are to be reared, provided they are well-cared for both in transit and in rearing.

It concedes that, in an ideal world, the calves would be reared and slaughtered for veal in the UK, and the meat then exported. But whilst that remains the NFU's long-term objective, a combination of the costs and expertise required to set up specialised veal calf rearing units from scratch in this country, and the preference of continental consumers for "home-reared" veal mean that this is not a realistic prospect in the short or medium term.