BSE crisis dashes hopes for progress on veal crates issue

Date: 16/05/1996

By Michael Mann

HOPES are fading that EU agriculture ministers will make at least some progress on plans to phase out veal crates before Italy's presidency of the Union comes to an end on 30 June.

Officials concede there is now little prospect of any further progress before Dublin begins its six-month stint at the helm.

Since the UK's announcement in March of a possible link between mad cow disease and its human equivalent Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the veal crate issue has slipped from the political agenda. “Over the last six weeks, the veterinary sector has been in tatters, and the UK has been forced to change its priorities completely,” said one member state official.

Matters have not been helped by the total lack of interest Italy's caretaker government has shown in the question.

Italy is not well known for placing a high premium on animal welfare at the best of times and also happens to be one of the Union's largest veal consumers.

In January, the Commission proposed an end to the construction of new veal crates by 1998, to be followed by a phase-out of their use over the following ten years.

In a separate proposal, which must be agreed by the Standing Veterinary Committee, the Commission also called for an end to the practice of tethering calves and proposed improved dietary standards - including minimum quantities of roughage, iron and drinking water.

But although the main impetus behind the proposals was provided by intense lobbying from London, under pressure from animal welfare groups in the UK, the British government has now become completely preoccupied with persuading its EU partners to lift the world-wide ban on British beef exports.

“There haven't been any more meetings on veal crates over the past few weeks. For obvious reasons, we are not even exporting any veal calves,” said a British official.

This has led France, the largest veal producer in the EU, to look nervously at the effects of the UK ban on its veal industry.

At the last meeting of EU agriculture ministers, French Minister Philippe Vasseur suggested that calves born after 1 May should be given a clean bill of health.

But at the same time, France continues to insist that the UK must take much stronger action to slaughter much of its dairy herd, on which the production of calves for the veal industry depends.

Greater progress is likely once the Irish take over the running of Council of Ministers' meetings at the beginning of July, although attention is likely to remain focused on BSE-related problems for some months to come.

Even when attention finally does turn to veal crates, the proposal's progress is certain to be anything but smooth.

Initial meetings to discuss the Commission's ideas have already highlighted the anticipated resistance from France, which insists on maintaining current rearing methods as a way of ensuring that veal meat retains its traditional white colour.

In a first attempt to slow progress, Paris insisted that the Commission conduct a study into the economic effects of its proposals on veal producers.