The campaign to protect the calf export trade will be won or lost over the next fortnight, Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher has warned.

A crucial European Parliament debate and vote, that is expected to take place in Strasbourg between January 17 and 20, could effectively ban the transport of unweaned calves under five weeks of age.

The upcoming vote follows last month’s decision by the parliament’s Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport (ANIT) to recommend a significant tightening of the regulations around the movement of livestock.

ANIT’s proposals will essentially prohibit the transport of unweaned calves under five weeks of age, as well as imposing transport time limits of two hours for unweaned animals older than 35 days. A ban on the transport of pregnant animals in the last third of gestation is also recommended.

'Death knell'

The measures, if implemented in full, could close down the export trade for 120,000 Irish dairy calves each spring.

“Last month’s decision to adopt excessive and highly restrictive alternative proposals from the Left and Greens would, if implemented by the European Commission, sound a death knell for animal transport,” said Kelleher.

“A ban on the transport of pregnant animals in the last third of gestation, plus a maximum journey time of two hours for unweaned animals over 35 days, and a complete ban for unweaned animals under 35 days would simply make it next to impossible to export live animals from Ireland,” he maintained.

The Fianna Fáil MEP said he planned to table amendments to the proposals which he described as “forward-looking” and “pro-animal welfare”.

Kelleher said his amendments would allow the transport of animals to continue “with stronger animal welfare standards”.

“During plenary week, I will seek to build a majority in parliament that is both pro-animal welfare, but also pro-rural communities. From the very beginning of this debate, I have repeatedly said that both positions can exist at the same time,” he said.