The Department of Agriculture has defended welfare standards for calves exported live from Ireland.
It comes after an investigation by the Dutch public service broadcaster NOS, which reported that Irish calves are transported on boats from Ireland to France with journey times of around 19 hours.
It suggested that because the calves are not given water or milk onboard, their conditions violated EU welfare rules, which the EU Commission interprets as specifying that animals should not go more than 12 hours without water.
In a statement issued to RTÉ News the Department said: "Independent data on the health and welfare of Irish calves shows that they have significantly lower mortality and lower antibiotic usage compared to calves transported from other Member States indicating that they arrive in good condition to other Member States."
The statement also said: "The trade in and export of live animals is a private commercial activity which is regulated by the Department in accordance with EU and National Regulations. The Department provides mutual assistance when appropriate to the Competent Authorities in other Member States when non-compliance issues arise involving live animals transported out of Ireland."
One Dutch news report had suggested that calves as young as two weeks, or one-month-olds who have not yet been weaned, are exported.
It said there is no commercially available method of giving them milk onboard ship, meaning they cannot be fed.
A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture told RTÉ News: "In order to improve welfare standards for calves during long transports to Europe, the Department has provided financial assistance to Teagasc in recent years to conduct scientific trials on developing an in-vehicle calf milk feeding system. The Department and Teagasc are hopeful this research can be brought to a successful pilot stage in early 2027."
