TY - JOUR

T1 - Welfare of calves

AU - EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare, null

AU - Nielsen, Søren Saxmose

AU - Alvarez, Julio

AU - Bicout, Dominique Joseph

AU - Calistri, Paolo

AU - Canali, Elisabetta

AU - Drewe, Julian Ashley

AU - Garin-Bastuji, Bruno

AU - Gonzales Rojas, Jose Luis

AU - Gortazar Schmidt, Christian

AU - Herskin, Mette

AU - Michel, Virginie

AU - Miranda Chueca, Miguel Angel

AU - Padalino, Barbara

AU - Pasquali, Paolo

AU - Roberts, Helen Clare

AU - Spoolder, Hans

AU - Stahl, Karl

AU - Velarde, Antonio

AU - Viltrop, Arvo

AU - Jensen, Margit Bak

AU - Waiblinger, Susanne

AU - Candiani, Denise

AU - Lima, Eliana

AU - Mosbach-Schulz, Olaf

AU - Van der Stede, Yves

AU - Vitali, Marika

AU - Winckler, Christoph

N1 - https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7896

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - This Scientific Opinion addresses a European Commission request on the welfare of calves as part of the Farm to Fork strategy. EFSA was asked to provide a description of common husbandry systems and related welfare consequences, as well as measures to prevent or mitigate the hazards leading to them. In addition, recommendations on three specific issues were requested: welfare of calves reared for white veal (space, group housing, requirements of iron and fibre); risk of limited cow?calf contact; and animal-based measures (ABMs) to monitor on-farm welfare in slaughterhouses. The methodology developed by EFSA to address similar requests was followed. Fifteen highly relevant welfare consequences were identified, with respiratory disorders, inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour, gastroenteric disorders and group stress being the most frequent across husbandry systems. Recommendations to improve the welfare of calves include increasing space allowance, keeping calves in stable groups from an early age, ensuring good colostrum management and increasing the amounts of milk fed to dairy calves. In addition, calves should be provided with deformable lying surfaces, water via an open surface and long-cut roughage in racks. Regarding specific recommendations for veal systems, calves should be kept in small groups (2?7 animals) within the first week of life, provided with ~?20 m2/calf and fed on average 1 kg neutral detergent fibre (NDF) per day, preferably using long-cut hay. Recommendations on cow?calf contact include keeping the calf with the dam for a minimum of 1 day post-partum. Longer contact should progressively be implemented, but research is needed to guide this implementation in practice. The ABMs body condition, carcass condemnations, abomasal lesions, lung lesions, carcass colour and bursa swelling may be collected in slaughterhouses to monitor on-farm welfare but should be complemented with behavioural ABMs collected on farm.

AB - This Scientific Opinion addresses a European Commission request on the welfare of calves as part of the Farm to Fork strategy. EFSA was asked to provide a description of common husbandry systems and related welfare consequences, as well as measures to prevent or mitigate the hazards leading to them. In addition, recommendations on three specific issues were requested: welfare of calves reared for white veal (space, group housing, requirements of iron and fibre); risk of limited cow?calf contact; and animal-based measures (ABMs) to monitor on-farm welfare in slaughterhouses. The methodology developed by EFSA to address similar requests was followed. Fifteen highly relevant welfare consequences were identified, with respiratory disorders, inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour, gastroenteric disorders and group stress being the most frequent across husbandry systems. Recommendations to improve the welfare of calves include increasing space allowance, keeping calves in stable groups from an early age, ensuring good colostrum management and increasing the amounts of milk fed to dairy calves. In addition, calves should be provided with deformable lying surfaces, water via an open surface and long-cut roughage in racks. Regarding specific recommendations for veal systems, calves should be kept in small groups (2?7 animals) within the first week of life, provided with ~?20 m2/calf and fed on average 1 kg neutral detergent fibre (NDF) per day, preferably using long-cut hay. Recommendations on cow?calf contact include keeping the calf with the dam for a minimum of 1 day post-partum. Longer contact should progressively be implemented, but research is needed to guide this implementation in practice. The ABMs body condition, carcass condemnations, abomasal lesions, lung lesions, carcass colour and bursa swelling may be collected in slaughterhouses to monitor on-farm welfare but should be complemented with behavioural ABMs collected on farm.

KW - calf welfare

KW - veal

KW - cow–calf contact

KW - individual housing

KW - husbandry systems

KW - iron

U2 - 10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7896

DO - 10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7896

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37009444

VL - 21

SP - 1

EP - 197

JO - E F S A Journal

JF - E F S A Journal

SN - 1831-4732

IS - 3

M1 - e07896

ER -