Irish Daily Mail

Irish veal calves’ hellish 56-hour cramped journey to Dutch abattoir

Slaughtere­d young, starved and pent up

- By Jane Fallon Griffin

WHITE veal is meat from young milk-fed calves, usually aged between six and eight months.

To produce the desired white colour, calves are fed a restricted low-iron diet and a milk supplement.

The lack of iron in the blood keeps the meat white.

The calf is also discourage­d from exercising to prevent the meat becoming tough.

The largest buyer of Irish veal calves is the Netherland­s, where 70% of production is white veal, according to the European Commission.

In 2007, the EU introduced a ban on veal crates that limited calf movement.

Now they must be kept in individual pens in which they can turn around up to the age of eight weeks; afterwards they

must be kept in groups.

Although white veal is not widely consumed in Ireland, in Europe it is a very profitable option for farmers as there is high demand for the meat in restaurant­s and homes.

White veal is consumed widely in the Netherland­s, France, Italy and Germany and Irish calves are sent to these locations to meet the growing demand.

Rose veal is veal with higher standards of animal welfare wherein the calves are not fed a restricted diet.

The calves are also older when slaughtere­d and have more space to move around and interact with other calves.

Groups of calves are kept indoors with natural light, plenty of straw and room to move around freely.

As a result, the colour of the meat is pinker than that of the white veal.

Animal welfare organisati­on Compassion in World Farming – Ireland has backed the production of rose veal in Ireland as an alternativ­e to the traditiona­l practices that are associated with white veal.

Discourage­d from exercising

 ??  ?? Cruel end: One of the calves filmed in Eyes On Animals’ report. Below: A calf being transporte­d by road
Cruel end: One of the calves filmed in Eyes On Animals’ report. Below: A calf being transporte­d by road

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Ireland