Divisions set to hold up veal crate proposals

Date: 11/01/1996

By Michael Mann

PROGRESS towards agreement on the gradual phasing-out of veal crates is now unlikely before the middle of this year at the earliest, amid divisions both within the European Commission and among member states over the plan.

The Commission is set to formally approve the proposal in time for the next meeting of EU farm ministers, but only after officials have completed work on an assessment of the economic consequences for farmers of introducing more humane methods of raising calves.

Staff in DGVI (agriculture) were obliged to carry out this additional study after Economics Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy blocked the adoption of the proposals shortly before Christmas. His move came in the wake of pressure from France, which is both the largest producer and consumer of veal in the EU, with average annual consumption running at just over 5 kilogrammes per head.

Extremely unhappy at de Silguy's tactics, Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler chose to push through a veterinary report on the question and a set of recommendations, leaving firm proposals until later. Following veterinary advice, the Commission will propose a ban on new individual veal crates from the start of 1998 and a total phase-out ten years later.

While the final decision on this proposal will be left to farm ministers, a further set of proposals covering other controversial areas such as calf feeding will be the responsibility of the EU's standing veterinary committee.

MEPs will also be consulted on the plan. Although Common Agricultural Policy procedures allow the Commission to ignore the views of the European Parliament, the emotive nature of these proposals persuaded DGVI that it would be wise to ask parliamentarians to give their views.

The future progress of the proposals in the Council of Ministers will depend to a large extent on whether or not the Italian presidency is prepared to take up the issue, according to Commission officials.

As one of the largest veal consumers in the Union, Italy will not be a natural supporter of the plan. But it may be pressurised into action by northern pro-welfare countries making agreement on the phase-out a condition of their cooperation on a range of measures dear to Rome, including reform of the fruit and vegetable and olive oil sectors.

“So far, only the French have really spoken out strongly against the proposals. Spain seemed willing to support us, although you can expect France to indulge in some fierce lobbying,” said a Commission official.

Experts believe that the attitude of the Dutch and the Belgians will be the key to the form of any final agreement on the issue. The Netherlands is already working on group housing for veal calves, while “the Belgians have realised the political value of becoming more pro-welfare”, say officials.

Privately, the Commission admits that the decision to leave the phase-out periods relatively long was an attempt to make the proposals more palatable to those most likely to be opposed to change.

But officials also stress that even those governments making the most noise about the inhumanity of individual crates do not ban them in their own domestic legislation.

In the UK, for example, calves are still kept in individual pens, although they are allowed space in which to move around and do receive iron and roughage in their diets.

The Scandinavian member states have not banned crates outright, although general animal welfare rules make the “typical veal crate system” illegal, according to a new campaign from the Eurogroup for Animal Welfare and the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

Only Germany actually prohibits the use of crates for all calves reared in holdings of over five calves from the age of eight weeks.

Campaigners claim the EU has failed in its legal duty to implement a Council of Europe recommendation on calf rearing and is therefore “duty bound to improve conditions for calves in its territory”.