The Dutch Food and Safety Authority (NVWA) has announced that it will impose fines on four Irish carriers transporting unweaned calves to the Netherlands.
The move is in response to claims the animals are not fed during the sea crossing, even though they are legally required to be fed during transport.
The Netherlands is a key destination for Irish dairy calves sold to mainland Europe, with around 200,000 animals leaving the country every year.
They are mostly used for veal production, and are usually transported via sea from Ireland to France, before making the rest of the journey via road.
Animal welfare groups claim this situation can lead to calves becoming weak, suffering from dehydration and hypoglycaemia, and even dying en route.
It is understood that Irish transporters bringing calves to the Netherlands will initially be given a warning and 12 months to find a more “humane and animal-friendly manner” in which to move them.
After that time, if they have not done so, a fine of €3,000 will be applied per violation, with the figure rising to €9,000 for a third rules breach, and €27,000 for a fourth offence.
The regulations will apply to any transporters of unweaned calves entering and leaving the Netherlands that have received an order subject to a penalty payment.
Dutch officials told RTÉ News they take the view that “calves that are still dependent on milk feeding must always receive the care and nutrition they require throughout the entire journey.
“This is currently not the case. During the long sea voyage from Ireland to the control post in France, and subsequently by road to the Netherlands, these very young and vulnerable animals are not fed.”
According to the NVWA, trucks are “not equipped with suitable feeding systems to provide warm milk, and each individual calf must be assisted in drinking.
“The latter is practically impossible. The NVWA strives for animal transport in which all parties are committed to transporting animals in a humane and animal-friendly manner.”
The agency added that “based on this conviction, we are imposing administrative orders subject to penalty on four Irish transport operators for failing to feed calves.
“In doing so, the NVWA is following the advice of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which states that the interval between two milk feedings should not exceed 12 hours.”
The EFSA also recommends that unweaned calves should not be transported by truck for more than eight hours
The NVWA said the violation “posing the greatest risk of suffering to the calves occurs at sea, between Ireland and France” and this “makes enforcement using the authority to act available to the NVWA within Dutch territory challenging”.
However, it said that its intervention is “pushing the boundaries of its legal enforcement options to the fullest extent possible”.
The agency said that it is taking enforcement action “with respect to the entire transport operation from Ireland to the Netherlands”.
It also noted that during its investigation it established that calves “require milk feeding not only during the sea crossing but also during transport from the control post in France to the Netherlands”.
Dutch authorities said they want to send a “clear signal” with these fines and that to comply with the duty of care for calves dependent on milk feeding, “transport operations must be organised differently”.
With a view to improving animal welfare, the veal sector in the Netherlands has set a target of ending the import of Irish calves by 2028.
Campaign to stop calf transports
In March of last year, after a break of 30 years, Brittany Ferries resumed transporting live animals on its Rosslare to Cherbourg route.
This move was strongly opposed by animal welfare groups, which argued that unweaned calves travelling from Ireland to France can go over 24 hours without food, a breach of EU law.
Following a sustained campaign to stop the transport of live animals via ferry – which included protests at ports – Brittany Ferries confirmed that it would cease live farm animal transports from Ireland to France from this autumn.
In 2025, Stena Line ceased live animal transports on its Rosslare-Cherbourg route, leaving Irish Ferries as the only company facilitating such transit to the continent.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said his department is ready to assess and approve vessels that might be made available to transport livestock out of Ireland.
‘We have to stand up for these vulnerable animals’
Annebeth van Aartsen, a veterinarian at the NVWA, said: “We have to stand up for these vulnerable animals that need to be taken care of.
“We tried to discuss this at EU level but no actions have been taken.
“We want to send a signal to the European Commission and are hoping that giving transporters a year before imposing fines gives us time to start a conversation at EU level,” she said.
Animal welfare groups have welcomed the action from the Dutch authority.
Director of Ethical Farming Ireland Caroline Rowley said: “It’s great to see an authority finally taking a stand to ensure legislation is respected. It’s just a shame this action isn’t coming from Ireland.
“Numerous studies have proven how much these young and vulnerable animals suffer due to extended feed deprivation during these long journeys so we very much welcome this move by the NVWA.
“The Dutch authorities care more about the welfare of Irish calves than our own government does.”
Meanwhile, Ethologist and Director of Eyes on Animals Lesley Moffat said that “legislation only protects animals if someone actually checks what happens along the way.
“We recorded the journey times and documented that calves barely three weeks old were left without milk for more than 30 hours. That fieldwork forms the basis for the enforcement request that has now finally prompted the NVWA to take action.”
Another animal welfare group, Dier&Recht, said the action “strikes at the very foundation of these transports”.
One of its members, Frederieke Schouten, who is also a vet, said the calves “must be given warm milk individually during the journey, but this is not practically feasible in a fully loaded truck.
“The calves are still far too young and need help drinking from a teat.
“We expect the Dutch veal sector, including VanDrie Group, to finally take both the welfare of these animals and the law seriously and to stop importing unweaned Irish calves.”
The group representing dairy farmers in Ireland, the ICMSA, said that it is “studying the announcement and its implications and will comment in due course”.