1991L0629 — EN — 17.02.1997 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of19November1991
layingdownminimumstandardsfortheprotectionofcalves
(91/629/EEC)
(OJ L 340, 11.12.1991, p. 28)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive 97/2/EC of 20 January 1997 L 25 24 28.1.1997
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COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of19November1991
layingdownminimumstandardsfortheprotectionofcalves
(91/629/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(3),
Whereas all Member States have ratified the European Convention on
the protection of animals kept for farming purposes; whereas the
Community has also approved this Convention by Decision 78/923/EEC(
4) and has deposited its instrument of approval;
Whereas the European Parliament, in its Resolution of 20 February
1987 on animal welfare policy(5), called on the Commission to make
proposals on minimum standards for the intensive farming of vealcalves;
Whereas calves, being live animals, are included in the list of products
set out in Annex II to the Treaty;
Whereas the keeping of calves is an integral part of agriculture;
whereas it constitutes a source of revenue for part of the agriculturalpopulation;
Whereas differences which may distort conditions of competition inter-
fere with the smooth running of the organization of the commonmarket in calves and calf products;
Whereas there is therefore a need to establish common minimum stan-
dards for the protection of rearing calves or calves for fattening inorder to ensure rational development of production;
Whereas it is necessary for official services, producers, consumers and
others to be kept informed of developments in this field; whereas theCommission should therefore, on the basis of a report from the Scien-tific Veterinary Committee, pursue actively scientific research into themost efficient stock-farming system(s) from the point of view of thewell-being of calves; whereas provision should accordingly be made
for an interim period to enable the Commission to complete this task
successfully,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
This Directive lays down the minimum standards for the protection of
calves confined for rearing and fattening.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive:
1. ‘calf’ shall mean a bovine animal upto six months old;1991L0629 — EN — 17.02.1997 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 214, 21. 8. 1989, p. 28.
(2) OJ No C 113, 7. 5. 1990, p. 180.
(3) OJ No C 62, 12. 3. 1990, p. 37.
(4) OJ No L 323, 17. 11. 1978, p. 12.
(5) OJ No C 76, 23. 3. 1987, p. 185.
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2. ‘competent authority’ shall mean the competent authority as defined
in Article 2 (6) of Directive 90/425/EEC(1).
Article 3
1. Member States shall ensure that from 1 January 1994 and for a
transitional period of four years, all holdings newly built or rebuint
and/or brought into use for the first time after that date shall comply
with at least the folloging requirements:
— where calves are housed in groups, they must have sufficient unob-
structed floor space to be able to turn round and lie down withouthindrance of at least 1,5 m
2for each calf of 150 kg live weight,
— where calves are housed in individual boxes or by tethering in
stalls, the boxes or stalls shall have perforated walls and their width
must be no less than 90 cm plus or minus 10%, or 0,80 times the
height at the withers.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to holdings with
fewer than six calves.
3. From 1 January 1998, the following provisions shall apply on all
newly built or rebuilt holdings and on all those brought into use afterthat date:
(a) no calf shall be confined in an individual pen after the age of eight
weeks, unless a veterinarian certifies that its health or behaviourrequires it to be isolated in order to receive treatment. The widthof any individual pen for a calf shall be at least equal to the heightof the calf at the withers, measured in the standing position, andthe length shall be at least equal to the body length of the calf,
measured from the tipof the nose to the caudal edge of the tuber
ischii (pin bone), multiplied by 1,1.
Individual pens for calves (except those for isolating sick animals)
must not have solid walls, but perforated walls which allow thecalves to have direct visual and tactile contact;
(b) For calves kept in groups, the unobstructed space allowance avail-
able to each calf shall be at least equal to 1,5 m
2for each calf with
a live weight of less than 150 kilograms, at least equal to 1,7 m2for
each calf with a live weight of 150 kilograms or more but less than
220 kilograms, and at least equal to 1,8 m2for each calf with a live
weight of 220 kilograms or more.
However, the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to:
— holdings with fewer than six calves;
— calves kept with their mothers for suckling.
From 31 December 2006, the provisions provided for above shall apply
on all holdings.
4. The duration of use of installations built
— before 1 January 1994 which do not meet the requirements of para-
graph 1 shall be determined by the competent authority in the light
of the results of the inspections provided for in Article 7 (1), andshall under no circumstances extend beyond 31 December 2003.
Article 4
1. Member States shall ensure that the conditions for rearing calves
comply with the general provisions laid down in the Annex.1991L0629 — EN — 17.02.1997 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 224, 18. 8. 1990, p. 29. Directive as last amended by Directive 91/
496/EEC (OJ No L 268, 24. 9. 1991, p. 56).▼M1
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Article 5
The provisions in the Annex may be amended in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 10 in order to take account of scientific
progress.
Article 6
Not later than ►M11 January 2006 ◄, the Commission shall submit
to the Council a report, drawn up on the basis of an opinion from theScientific Veterinary Committee, on the intensive farming system(s)which comply with the requirements of the well-being of calves fromthe pathological, zootechnical, physiological and behavioural point of
view, as well as the socio-economic implications of different systems,
together with proposals relevant to the report's conclusions.
The Council shall act by a qualified majority on these proposals no
later than three months after their submission.
Article 7
1. Member States shall ensure that inspections are carried out under
the responsibility of the competent authority in order to check that theprovisions of this Directive and its Annex are complied with.
These inspections, which may be carried out on the occasion of checks
made for other purposes, shall each year cover a statistically represen-tative sample of the different farming systems used in each MemberState.
2. The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 10, draw up a code of rules to be applied in carryingout the inspections provided for in paragraph 1.
3. Every two years, by the last working day in April and for the first
time by 30 April 1996, Member States shall inform the Commission ofthe results of the inspections carried out during the previous two yearsin accordance with this Article, including the number of inspections
carried out in relation to the number of holdings in their territory.
Article 8
In order to be imported into the Community, animals coming from a
non-member country must be accompanied by a certificate issued bythe competent authority of that country, certifying that they havereceived treatment at least equivalent to that granted to animals of
Community origin as provided for by this Directive.
Article 9
Veterinary experts from the Commission may, where necessary for the
uniform application of this Directive, carry out on-the-spot checks incooperation with the competent authorities. The persons carrying outthese checks shall implement the special personal hygiene measuresnecessary to exclude any risk of transmission of disease.
The Member State in the territory of which a check is being carried out
shall give all necessary assistance to the experts in carrying out theirduties. The Commission shall inform the competent authority of the
Member State concerned of the results of the checks.
The competent authority of the Member State concerned shall take any
measures which may prove necessary to take account of the results of
the checks.
With regard to relations with non-member countries, the provisions of
Chapter III of Directive 91/496/EEC(
1) shall apply.1991L0629 — EN — 17.02.1997 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ No L 268, 24. 9. 1991, p. 56.▼B
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General rules for the application of this Article shall be adopted in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10.
Article 10
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be followed,
the chairman shall refer the matter without delay to the Standing Veter-
inary Committee set upby Directive 68/361/EEC(1), hereinafter
referred to as the ‘Committee’, either on his own initiative or at therequest of the representative of a Member State.
2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shalldeliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairmanmay lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion
shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the
Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to adopton a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives ofthe Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in themanner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
3. The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in
accordance with the opinion of the Committee.
4. If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion
of the Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shallwithout delay submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measuresto be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If, within three months of the date of referral to the Council, the
Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by theCommission except where the Council has decided against the
measures by a simple majority.
Article 11
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions, including any sanctions, necessary to complywith this Directive not later than 1 January 1994. They shall forthwithinform the Commission thereof.
Where Member States adopt these provisions, the latter shall include a
reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a referenceon their official publication. The details of this reference shall be
adopted by the Member States.
2. However, from the date set in paragraph 1, Member States may,
in compliance with the general rules of the Treaty, maintain or applywithin their territories stricter provisions for the protection of calvesthan those laid down in this Directive. They shall inform the Commis-sion of any such measures.
Article 12
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1991L0629 — EN — 17.02.1997 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ No L 255, 18. 10. 1968, p. 23.
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ANNEX
1. Materials used for the construction of calf accommodation and in particular
of boxes and equipment with which calves may come into contact must not
be harmful to the calves and must be capable of being thoroughly cleaned
and disinfected.
2. Until Community rules are laid down on the matter, electrical circuits and
equipment must be installed in accordance with current national rules so as
to avoid electric shocks.
3. Insulation, heating and ventilation of the building must ensure that the air
circulation, dust level, temperature, relative air humidity and gas concentra-
tions are kept within limits which are not harmful to the calves.
4. All automated or mechanical equipment essential for the calves' health and
well-being must be inspected at least once daily. Where defects are discov-
ered, these must be rectified immediately or, if this is impossible,
appropriate steps must be taken to safeguard the health and well-being of
the calves until the defect has been rectified, notably by using alternative
methods of feeding and maintaining a satisfactory environment.
Where an artificial ventilation system is used, provision must be made for
an appropriate back-up system to guarantee sufficient air renewal to
preserve the health and well-being of the calves in the event of failure of
the system, and an alarm system must be provided to warn the stock-keeper
of the breakdown. The alarm system must be tested regularly.
5. Calves must not be kept permanently in darkness. To meet their behavioural
and physiological needs, provision must be made, allowing for the different
climatic conditions in the Member States, for appropriate natural or artificial
lighting; if the latter, it must function for a period at least equivalent to the
period of natural light normally available between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. In
addition, suitable lighting (fixed or portable) strong enough to allow the
calves to be inspected at any time must be available.
6. All calves reared in groups or in boxes must be inspected by the owner or
the person responsible for the animals at least once a day. Any calf which
appears to be ill or injured must be treated appropriately without delay.
It should be possible, wherever necessary, to isolate sick or injured calves in
adequate accommodation with dry, comfortable bedding.
Veterinary advice must be obtained as soon as possible for calves which are
not responding to the stock-keeper's care.
7. The accommodation for calves must be constructed in such a way as to
allow each calf:
— to lie down, rest, stand upand groom itself without difficulty;
— to see other calves.
8. Where tethers are used, they must not cause injury to the calves and must
be inspected regularly and adjusted as necessary to ensure a comfortable fit.
Each tether must be of sufficient length to allow the calves to move as
stipulated in paragraph 7. The design must be such as to avoid, as far as
possible, any risk of strangulation or injury.
9. Housing, pens, equipment and utensils used for calves must be properly
cleaned and disinfected to prevent cross-infection and the build-up of
disease-carrying organisms. Faeces, urine and uneaten or spilt food must
be removed as often as necessary to minimize smell and avoiding attracting
flies or rodents.
10. Floors must be smooth but not slippery so as to prevent injury to the calves
and so designed as not to cause injury or suffering to calves standing or
lying on them. They must be suitable for the size and weight of the calves
and form a rigid, even and stable surface. The lying area must be comfor-
table, clean, and adequately drained and must not adversely affect the
calves. Appropriate bedding must be provided for all calves less than two
weeks old.
11. All calves must be provided with an appropriate diet adapted to their age,
weight and behavioural and physiological needs, to promote a positive state
of health and well-being. In order to ensure a positive state ofhealth and
well-being as well as a healthy growth rate and to meet their behavioural
needs, the calves' food must include sufficient iron and a minimum of dried
feed containing a digestible fibre (100—200 gr daily depending on the age
of the animal). However, the requirement for a minimum quantity of dried
feed containing digestible fibres does not apply to the production of veal
calves for white meat. Calves must not be muzzled.1991L0629 — EN — 17.02.1997 — 001.001 — 6
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12. All calves must be fed at least once a day. Where calves are housed in
groups and not fed ad libitum , or by an automatic feeding system, each
calf must have access to the food at the same time as the others in the
group.
13. All calves over two weeks of age must have access to a sufficient quantity
of fresh water or be able to satisfy their fluid intake needs by drinking other
liquids.
14. Feeding and watering equipment must be designed, constructed, placed and
maintained so that contamination of the calves' feed and water is mini-
mized.1991L0629 — EN — 17.02.1997 — 001.001 — 7