COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 15.12.1995 
COM(95)711 final 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
on the welfare of calves 

PREFACE 
Article 6 of Council Directive 91/629/EEC laying down minimum standards for the 
protection of calves(1) states in its first paragraph: 
"Not later than 1 October 1997, the Commission shall submit to the Council a report, 
drawn up on the basis of an opinion from the Scientific Veterinary Committee, on the 
intensive farming system(s) which comply with the requirements of the well-being of 
calves from the pathological, zootechnical, physiological and behavioural points of view, 
as well as the socio-economic implications of different systems, together with proposals 
relevant to the report's conclusions." 
The Council of Agriculture Ministers, in its meeting of January 1995, called on the 
Commission to make this report as soon as possible. 
At the request of the Commission, the Scientific Veterinary Committee (Animal Welfare 
Section) established an expert working group to draft a report under the Chairmanship of 
Professor D.M. Broom, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Cambridge University. 
The members of the working group, selected on the basis of their scientific expertise in the 
matter and not as representatives of their countries, were: 
Professor D.M. Broom, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of 
Cambridge, UK, assisted by Mr R. Kirkden of the same department; 
Dr H.J. Blokhuis, Institute for Animal Science and Health, Zeist, NL; 
Dr E. Canali, Istituto di Zootecnica Veterinaria, Université di Milano, IT; 
Prof. A.A. Dijkhuizen, Wageningen Agricultural University, NL; 
Dr R. Fallon, Grange Research Centre, IRL; 
Dr P. Le Neindre, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Theix, FR; 
Prof. H. Saloniemi, College of Veterinary Medicine, Helsinki, FI; 
Prof. A.J.F. Webster, Dept. of Clinical Veterinary Science, Bristol University, UK; 
Dr P. Van Houwelingen, European Commission. (Secretary) 
The working group has presented its draft report to the Scientific Veterinary Committee. 
On the basis of the draft report of the working group, the Committee has elaborated this 
opinion and presented it to the Commission. This opinion will be sent separately to the 
European Parliament and the Council. This Communication draws upon the report of the 
Scientific Veterinary Committee. 
(1) OJ N° L 340, 11.12.1991, p. 28 
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INTRODUCTION 
Welfare. 
Animals have evolved physiological and behavioural methods to cope with the various 
difficulties which they encounter during their lives. Since all animals have evolved so that 
each species is adapted in a particular way to a particular environment, any definition and 
assessment of welfare must take account of the environment, physiology and behaviour 
specific to the animals under consideration. The welfare of an animal is a condition 
intrinsic to the animal; it is not a set of values transferred to the animal by humans. 
In the course of their lives, animals may encounter difficulties ranging from the trivial to 
the life-threatening. Individual animals cope with these difficulties with varying success, 
depending on their environmental physiological and behavioural circumstances. The 
outcome ranges from the best result, which is no adverse effect, to the worst, which is 
death. Between these extremes, the welfare of the animal can vary from very good to very 
poor. 
The above considerations result in the following definition of welfare: 
the welfare of an individual is its state as regards its attempts to cope with its environment. 
Needs 
The term "needs" is used in this Communication to describe both requirements which are 
essential for life and requirements which are not essential for life but which are of 
significant importance to the anima). It does not include preferences which are of little 
importance to the animal. 
Farm animals have an array of needs similar to those of their wild ancestors, although 
some needs have been modified in the course of domestication. It is obvious that 
fundamental requirements, such as those for food, drink and shelter, are unchanged from 
wild to domestic species, but it may be less obvious that the impetus in wild ancestors to 
perform certain behaviours associated with reproduction, and with obtaining food, drink 
and shelter, is still present in domestic animals. 
Like welfare, a need is an intrinsic characteristic of an individual. It is defined thus: 
A need is a requirement, which is a consequence of the biology of the animal, to obtain 
a particular resource or respond to a particular environmental or bodily stimulus. 
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MEASUREMENTS OF WELFARE. 
Welfare can be assessed by measurements of behaviour, physiology, health and production. 
Although in some cases a single measurement may give an indication of the state of an 
animal, it is usually necessary to evaluate several indicators to obtain a clear assessment. 
Behaviour 
Preference tests present the animal with choices, for example between different foods or 
housing systems. The strength of a preference determines whether it can be regarded as a 
need; this can be assessed by monitoring the amount of abnormal behaviour and 
physiological stress which occurs when the preference is denied, and by measuring how 
hard the animal is prepared to work to achieve it. 
A version tests measure the strength of an animal's aversion to a stimulus. They are of 
some use in measuring the effects of housing systems on animals but their results may be 
confounded by learning effects. 
Deprivation and motivation. Animals remain motivated to perform certain behaviours even 
if they are prevented from doing so by their physical environment. This results in abnormal 
behaviour patterns in which the animal performs the motivated behaviour in an altered 
form or an unusual context. The strength of motivation may be assessed by measuring how 
much the animal is prepared to "pay", in energy or time, to perform the behaviour. 
Stereotypies are repeated, relatively invariate sequences of movements which have no 
obvious purpose. They develop when the animal is severely or chronically frustrated, 
indicating that it is having difficulty in coping and its welfare is poor. 
Aspects of the behaviour of calves which have been investigated using some or all of the 
above indicators are: sucking, cross-sucking, licking, self-licking, oral stereotypies, posture, 
locomotion, exploration reactivity and social behaviour. 
Physiology 
Cortisol/corticosterone production occurs in diverse difficult situations and is useful in 
welfare assessment. As these hormones are also produced in situations such as courtship 
and mating, which are not harmful to the animal, it is essential to obtain other information 
about the state of the animal when they are being used to assess welfare. 
Heart rate can be used to assess the effects of short-term problems, in conjunction with 
other measurements of behaviour. 
Immune response. Several measurements of the activity of the immune system can be used 
to measure stress. 
All of the above measures have been used in the assessment of calf welfare. 
Health 
Mortality rate is a crude but unequivocal indicator of poor welfare. Published values for 
calves from birth to 6 months range from 1% to over 30%. In calves from 1 to 7 days of 
age the commonest cause of death is septicaemia due to poor hygiene or inadequate 
colostrum intake. In older calves, the main causes are diarrhoea and pneumonia which can 
be attributed indirectly and in part to conditions of feeding and housing. An inverse 
correlation has been found between mortality and the cash value of calves, indicating that 
mortality rates can be minimised if the financial incentive is great enough. 
Morbidity rates are also an indicator of the welfare status of a herd, but are less precise 
than mortality rates. The major diseases of calves are: diarrhoea, pneumonia, rumen 
disorders, abomasal damage, anaemia, navel infection and arthritis. 
Performance 
Care must be taken in using performance as an indicator of welfare since although a 
substantial reduction in the growth rate of a calf would indicate poor welfare, the reverse 
does not indicate that welfare is good. Young mammals can continue to grow rapidly when 
their welfare is poor. 
THE NEEDS OF CALVES 
Calves need colostrum, to provide immune protection during the first weeks of life, and 
they need the nutrients provided by milk or milk substitutes. They need to show searching, 
licking and sucking behaviour in order to obtain colostrum and milk; deprivation of a teat 
results in re-directed sucking of other objects or other calves and can lead to oral 
stereotypies. 
Rest and sleep are essential for calves. When resting and sleeping they adopt certain 
postures, including stretching their legs so that the width of the space occupied by the calf 
is equal to its height at the withers when standing. 
Exploratory and escape behaviour is shown by all calves, and inability to perform these 
behaviours may contribute to the high incidence of oral stereotypies in confined calves. 
Their stress response to handling and transport is substantially greater if they have been 
kept in individual pens rather than in groups, and have had little previous human contact. 
Frequent gentle contact has been shown to be beneficial to calves. 
Exercise is necessary for normal bone and muscle development; after 6 months in a crate 
many calves have severe locomotor problems. 
Calves need to eat roughage and to ruminate. The extent of abnormal behaviour in calves 
fed only milk is very substantial and the welfare of calves older than 4 weeks fed on such 
a diet is not good. 
Calves need to avoid disease and parasitism, and they have evolved a number of 
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behavioural mechanisms for the maintenance of good health, including grooming and 
foraging. Excessive grooming in the form of self-licking, seen frequently in crate-housed 
calves, may be a result of inability to groom the hind part of the body increasing the desire 
to groom those parts which can be reached. 
Calves need contact with their mothers, or stimuli providing comfort similar to that 
obtained from their mothers. Although they can survive early separation, there are clear 
advantages in terms of health and vigour in calves which are left with their mother. 
Calves need social interaction with other cattle. Group-housed calves show little 
competitive behaviour which could be considered harmful, and they obtain clear benefits 
from social facilitation. Calves housed individually make strenuous efforts to see and touch 
other calves. 
CALF REARING SYSTEMS 
The "natural" situation 
Neither the domestication of cattle nor breeding programmes have altered the biological 
relationship between cow and calf. Under farming conditions, the system nearest to the 
natural situation is that of suckler beef production in which the calf remains with its 
mother, usually at pasture, for most of its life. Under these conditions, calves suckle for 
at least 8 months and normally eat little solid food until 2 to 3 months of age, although 
rumination begins within the first month of life. 
As long as these calves are provided with suitable pasture or concentrate food, suitable 
shelter when necessary and are given appropriate veterinary care, there are no major 
welfare problems intrinsic to this system. 
However, calves produced as a by-product of the dairy industry cannot be reared in this 
way and must be separated from their mothers at an early age. Two main rearing systems 
in which calves are isolated from their mothers have been developed: 
* the veal calf system, in which the consumption of solid food is minimized, and 
* the early weaned system, in which the consumption of solid food is maximised. 
The veal calf system 
Approximately 30 million calves are born each year in the Community, and about 6 million 
of these are reared for veal production. The main veal-producing Member States are 
France, Netherlands and Italy, and the main veal-consuming Member States are France, 
Italy and Germany. 
Meat colour 
The objective of this system is to obtain pale pink meat (often incorrectly referred to as 
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"white meat") with a low content of the muscle iron pigment myoglobin. For historical 
reasons, the pale colour is believed by some consumers to indicate high quality. This belief 
stems from the very ancient tradition, referred to in the bible, that a young calf feeding 
only on its mother's milk gave the most tender meat; the slaughter of such an animal was 
an extravagant luxury reserved for special occasions. 
In fact, the colour of veal presented to the consumer depends on a number of factors, 
including the iron status of the calf at birth, the diet, the methods of rearing and transport 
and the treatment of the animal and the carcase at slaughter. For example, a calf with a low 
myoglobin content may, if subject to ill-treatment during transport and before slaughter, 
produce darker meat than one with a higher myoglobin content whose carcase has been 
electrically stimulated after slaughter to hasten the onset of rigor mortis. 
Even the relationship between dietary iron content, blood haemoglobin level and muscle 
myoglobin is a complex one. It is, however, possible to rear a calf with a haemoglobin 
level high enough to maintain good health and vigour, and which yields meat pale enough 
to command the highest quality grading for veal. 
Diet 
As calves are usually born with a low reserve of iron, and the iron content of milk is low, 
calves fed only on milk have very low haemoglobin levels. If the haemoglobin level falls 
to the point where the calf becomes clinically anaemic, it ceases to thrive and is greatly 
at risk of dying from pneumonia or diarrhoea. For this reason, the practice is developing 
of giving calves an injection of iron shortly after birth, and possibly repeating it after two 
or three weeks, to achieve a high haemoglobin level in the initial growth period when the 
calf is most at risk of contracting a potentially fatal disease. On a milk-only diet, the level 
of haemoglobin, and consequently myoglobin, will decrease over the fattening period to 
a low level at the time of slaughter. This practice has become feasible with the increasing 
length of the fattening period which has developed over the last decade in Europe. 
The lengthening of the fattening period for veal calves has also led, to a limited extent, to 
the introduction of foodstuffs other than milk or milk substitutes into the diet. It is 
unacceptable from the point of view of welfare to maintain a calf in the pre-ruminant stage 
beyond the age of three months. In order to allow the normal development of the rumen, 
roughage must be added to the diet. Roughage is food high in cellulose and related 
compounds and of low digestibility, i.e. it is high in fibre. Roughage for calves should 
contain "long" fibre (more than 10mm in length) to provide sufficient mechanical 
stimulation to induce rumination. 
The inclusion in the diet of roughage with a low iron content does not affect the colour of 
the meat, and the technique was used in France in the 1980s. However, due to slight extra 
costs with no extra profit, it has almost disappeared in that country. It is still carried out 
in the Netherlands. 
Housing 
Veal calves are gathered from dairy farms at about 1 to 3 weeks of age. They may have 
been deprived of colostrum and may pass through markets or collection centres, coming 
into contact with large numbers of calves from different farms, and be highly stressed. 
Under these conditions of immune deficiency and exposure to multiple sources of disease, 
there is a high risk of spreading pneumonic and diarrhoeic pathogens such as salmonella 
among the veal population. 
For this reason, veal calves should be kept in individual pens, under close supervision, for 
the first four to six weeks after arrival at the fattening unit. In France and Italy, most veal 
calves are kept for the whole fattening period in individual crates with solid sides, slatted 
floors and no bedding. In Italy, calves are sometimes tethered by the neck for the whole 
fattening period. This degree of confinement or tethering is not necessary for health reasons 
and is undesirable for welfare reasons. 
Group housing systems are also used for veal calves. Systems with large groups on straw, 
with automatic feeders, have been developed in Switzerland, Germany, UK and France 
over the last 15 years, but in France the use of this system has declined due to management 
problems and uneconomical results. Electronically controlled feeders, which allow each 
calf a measured diet, have been developed but they are relatively expensive and are not 
common in veal production. 
A system of group housing on slatted floors, with calves receiving milk twice daily from 
a bucket, has been in use for some years, particularly in the Netherlands. The calves 
usually also receive limited amounts of roughage in the form of straw pellets. The 
proportion of calves kept in this system in the Netherlands has increased from 4.7% in 
1985 to 22.9% in 1995. 
Early weaned calves 
The main objective with early weaned calves, which are destined for beef production or 
as replacement breeding stock, is to develop their ability to ingest and digest solid feed as 
soon as possible. They are weaned from as early as 4 weeks, by which time their digestive 
tracts have started to develop adult characteristics, but they are not able to digest a full 
range of nutrients before about 3 months of age. 
Diet 
Feeding regimes for these calves vary, but a typical schedule would be to feed colostrum 
and whole milk for a week, then 20 to 25 kg of milk replacer powder over a six to eight 
week period with concentrates available ad libitum from 7 days of age. The calves would 
be eating about 1 kg of concentrate feed daily before weaning. A daily allowance of long 
fibre roughage (hay or straw) is provided to stimulate rumen development. 
Housing 
For the health reasons explained in relation to veal calves, early weaned calves are usually 
penned individually for the first one or two months of life. After that they are usually kept 
in groups indoors or at pasture. 
There are many different combinations of housing and feeding systems used for early 
weaned calves. They may be kept at pasture, in group pens of varying size or in barns, 
with or without bedding, given milk ad libitum or on a restricted basis, from buckets, teats 
or automatic feeders and fed a wide variety of concentrate diets. 
No attempts are made to restrict their iron intake, prevent the development of the rumen 
or restrict their natural movements. 
COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT SYSTEMS 
A comparison of the different systems of calf rearing on the basis of the scientific studies 
referred to in their report led the Scientific Veterinary Committee to the following 
conclusions. 
General management 
1. Housing and management systems for calves should be designed so that the needs 
of the animals are satisfied and the welfare of the animals is good. 
2. A variety of housing and management methods for calves intended as dairy herd 
replacers, beef animals and veal animals are in use and these methods vary in their effects 
on calf welfare. The best conditions for rearing young calves involve leaving the calf with 
the mother in a circumstance where the calf can suck and can subsequently graze and 
interact with other calves. 
3. It is important that the calf should receive sufficient colostrum within the first six 
hours of life and as soon as possible after birth, in conditions which facilitate antibody 
absorption, preferably by sucking from the mother, so as to ensure adequate 
immunoglobulin levels in the blood. 
4. Calves need resources and stimuli which are normally provided by their mother. All 
calves should be given an adequate diet, appropriate conditions of temperature and 
humidity, adequate opportunities to exercise, good lying conditions, appropriate stimuli for 
sucking during the first few weeks of life and social contact with other calves from one 
week of age onwards. Calves reared without their mothers should receive considerate 
human contact, preferably from the same stockperson throughout the growing period. 
Diet 
1. Calves which lack spécifie nutrients, including iron, which are given a poorly 
balanced diet, and which are not provided with adequate roughage in the diet after four 
weeks of age can have serious health problems, can show serious abnormalities of 
behaviour, and can have substantial abnormalities in gut development. Every calf should 
receive a properly balanced diet with adequate nutrients. 
2. Every calf should be fed fermentable material, appropriate in quality and sufficient 
in quantity to maintain the microbial flora of the gut, and sufficient fibre to stimulate the 
development of villi in the rumen. Calves should receive a minimum of 1 OOg of roughage 
per day from 2 to 15 weeks of age, increasing to 250g per day from 15 to 26 weeks of age. 
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and preferably double these amounts. 
3. There are clear signs of increased disease susceptibility and immunosuppression in 
calves whose blood haemoglobin concentration is below 4.5 mmol/litre; all calves should 
be fed in such a way that their blood haemoglobin level does not fall below this figure. 
4. Calves should be fed from a teat during the first four weeks of life and should in any 
case be given a non-nutritive teat during that period. For group-housed calves a group of 
teats close together should be provided. 
5. Calves which are diseased, and calves which are in hot conditions, often need to 
drink water as well as milk. All calves will drink water if it is available, and the provision 
of milk or milk substitute is not an adequate alternative. All calves should be provided 
daily with water to drink. 
Housing 
1. The welfare of calves is very poor when they are kept in small individual pens with 
insufficient room for comfortable lying, no direct social contact and no bedding or other 
material to manipulate. Every calf should be able to groom itself properly, turn around, 
stand up and lie down normally and lie with its legs stretched out. 
2. In order to provide an environment which is adequate for exercise, exploration and 
free social interaction, calves should be kept in groups. Calves should never be kept at too 
high a stocking density. Larger groups are preferred because of the better possibilities for 
providing an adequate environment. 
3. If the preferred system, group housing, is not possible, individual pens should 
provide an adequate space allowance and, with the exception of pens for calves which must 
be isolated for imperative health reasons, should have open sides and fronts which allow 
direct visual and tactile contact. 
4. For both group-housed and individually penned calves, the minimum space allowance 
per calf which permits normal movements when the calf is standing up and lying down is 
height x body length x 1.1. The height is measured to the top of the withers and the length 
is measured from the tip of the nose to the caudal edge of the tuber ischii (pin bone). 
There is evidence of increasingly poor welfare as the width of an individual pen decreases 
below the height of the calf at the withers. 
5. Tethering always causes problems for calves. Calves housed in groups should not be 
tethered except for periods of not more than 1 hour at the time of feeding milk; 
individually penned calves should not be tethered. 
6. Appropriate bedding, for example straw, is recommended. Bedding must be changed 
at appropriate intervals and every calf should have access to a dry lying area, not just wet 
slats. Slatted floors must not be slippery. 
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Economies 
1. Surveys of veal consumption show that there have been substantial reductions in 
several Member States in the last 7 to 10 years. Some of this decline is likely to be due 
to concern about the welfare of the animals. Such concern may well increase in all Member 
States so there will be continuing pressure on veal producers unless they are perceived to 
be keeping animals in ways which result in good calf welfare. 
2. Of the total cost of veal production, about 45% consists of feed costs, 30% of the 
purchase price of the calf, 15% of fixed costs (housing and labour) and 10% of other costs. 
3. Investments per calf in buildings and housing materials increase considerably with 
an increased space allowance in both individual and group housing, although a given 
increase in space per calf is cheaper in group housing than in individual housing. 
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