Calf exporters make proposal to build lairage near Rosslare

A proposal has been put to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, for the construction of a calf lairage in close proximity to Rosslare Port, Co. Wexford.

The proposal was made by the Irish Livestock Stakeholders’ Association chairman of the welfare group, Seamus Scallan.

The proposal is for a ‘state of the art’ carbon-neutral calf lairage to be built with the capacity to hold 5,000 calves.

Scallan outlined that the association is currently in negotiations to aquire a suitable parcel of land for the facility close to Rosslare Port.

Seamus Scallon

The association’s welfare chairman noted that the lairage would act as “a feeding station” for calves before they are loaded for transport to mainland Europe.

He added that all stakeholders transporting calves to mainland Europe would be invited to join a cooperative movement that would run the facility with a board of directors appointed.

Commenting on the proposal, Scallan explained: “As a country with an expanding dairy herd, we need to find customers for our dairy-bull calves outside of Ireland in mainland Europe.”

Continuing, he noted: “Ireland must be seen as the country with the highest calf-welfare standards in the EU, if we are to continue to develop this market.”

Scallan noted that if this is to be achieved, “we must go above and beyond the existing protocols in place for transporting calves to mainland Europe”.

“We have an obligation to bring our standard of calf welfare to the highest in the EU. We have to be recognised as having the highest welfare standards in all of Europe when trading calves to other EU countries.”

The welfare chair noted that calves in the proposed lairage would all be fed a slow-releasing milk replacer that lasts in the calf’s system for the duration of the transport.

Continuing, he explained: “We have to look at how we can upgrade our transport systems for calves also. We need proper electrolytes available to calves on trucks.”

Commenting on how the construction of the proposed calf lairage would be funded, Scallan noted: “We are looking for funding to come from the calf-export levies that have gone to Bord Bia and the government.

“The creameries have a duty of care to this industry also,” he added.

Concluding, Scallan said: “With increasing numbers of dairy cows, we need a system in place that we can get our stock out to EU countries. The onus is on co-ops to sit down and meet with the people in the business of selling calves outside Ireland and discuss a roadmap forward.”

- Article by Breifne O’Brien, Agriland Media