New measures tightening controls on the live export of animals have been introduced by Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed ahead of the spring calving season.

The majority of the enhanced controls are focused on dairy calves that travel to Cherbourg in France en route to veal production units in the Netherlands.

An agreement between the chief veterinary officers in Ireland and France will see binding procedures introduced to control the number of calves that are allowed to be booked into lairages. This will prevent potential overcrowding in Cherbourg.

During peak season, random unannounced inspections will be carried out by the Department of Agriculture during transport.

Vets will also accompany calves from Ireland to Cherbourg to verify the welfare of the animals during transport.

Rest

The stopover period in Cherbourg is to be increased by one hour to 13 hours.

The additional hour will allow for unloading and loading time, to ensure calves get the legal requirement of at least 12 hours’ rest.

The minister also indicated that his Department will step up its enforcement of rules around satellite navigation data next year. Drivers of vehicles transporting animals must return this information to the Department.

Rubber teat-based water drinkers in vehicles carrying unweaned calves are mandatory since 1 December. Currently, some vehicles use metal teats.

The space allowance for 50kg calves in vehicles will also be increased by 8.3%, resulting in fewer calves per truck.

Other measures include a ban on the use of sticks in assembly centres and a ban on the transport of animals to areas with a weather forecast of 300C or higher.

The minister said live exports had grown in recent years and that the highest standards in animal welfare were critical to the trade.

He said this was why the Department continued “to strengthen our animal welfare standards to ensure that this trade continues in a sustainable manner”.