Hunland Group has publically announced it will go beyond the ambiguous EU rules and completely stop transporting unweaned calves under the age of 3 months. The reason for their decision is that calves cannot be given the proper care and feeding they need while cooped up on a truck. Calves of this age are dependent on milk for nutrition, and cannot yet ruminate and eat roughage. It is impossible to place milk in the trucks’ watering system, or to offer it at the right temperature for safe digestion or to verify that each calf gets enough. To read about Hunlands’ decision, see HERE.
Eyes on Animals has a long history of working with Hunland and sensitizing their company to animal-welfare. We have worked together on improving the design of livestock trucks and on-board water systems (see HERE), we train their animal-truck drivers in Hungary regularly ( see : https://www.eyesonanimals.com/training-course-to-truck-drivers-from-hunland-trans-company-hungary/ and https://www.eyesonanimals.com/training-course-given-to-hunland-livestock-drivers/ and https://www.eyesonanimals.com/training-course-given-to-hunland-livestock-drivers-2/ and worked on EU welfare projects together (https://www.eyesonanimals.com/eu-project-on-good-and-aspiring-practices-to-reduce-stress-of-poultry-transport/) Hunland has proved to be an open-minded animal transport company always striving to be on top of animal behaviour and welfare issues and adopting their company policies to them. We are grateful for their decision and for paving a new road for better welfare for unweaned calves. We hope other transport companies will follow their lead, and veterinarian and EU authorities too, at phasing out the long-distance transport of unweaned calves.
