Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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187. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the latest figures for the licensed slaughter of young dairy calves which show that 30,000 animals were killed in 2021; and his plans to stop this practice and to reduce these figures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26874/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Every calf born on an Irish farm has a value, and the importance of calf welfare is reflected in discussions with stakeholders at the Calf Stakeholder Forum. This recognises that calf welfare is a crucial part of sustainable dairy industry and important for the reputation of the Irish dairy sector

The Forum’s objective is to cooperate to support a socially sustainable national dairy industry and promote greater dairy/beef integration. Everyone around the table has been working together to develop and implement measures to positively advance these objectives.

Just under 26,000 calves were processed for human consumption in 2021. These calves are processed in compliance with the law and the welfare of the calves at the time of processing is ensured.

With the assistance of my Department, the Forum is advocating for the dairy industry to undertake and promote actions to reduce and indeed look to eliminate the unnecessary routine early processing of calves. 

It is vital that we continue to explore alternative outlets for our calves, and good progress is being made, for example though dairy-beef integration.

I also welcome the establishment of the new sexed semen laboratory in Teagasc Moorepark. We are encouraged by the increased use of sexed semen which is more feasible now than before.

With the development of the ICBF’s Dairy Beef Index, genetic trends for beef traits have improved greatly for beef sires, reassuring farmers that these beef-dairy calves have better beef potential.

The Integrated Dairy Beef Programme with ICOS marts also continues to deliver valuable insights on how to build a more sustainable and integrated beef-from-dairy model. Genotyping and genetics are key aspects of this programme.

I am confident that through the work of the Calf Stakeholder Forum, the dairy industry as a whole is committed to ensuring the highest standards of calf welfare on Irish farms.