ICOS Calf Welfare Charter & FAWAC/DAFM Calf Welfare Guidelines

Dairy

As an active member of ICOS, Glanbia Ireland has adopted the ICOS Calf Welfare Charter. This charter sets out key principles, which the entire industry will abide by, to ensure that the highest possible welfare standards apply to all calves produced on Irish dairy farms.

FAWAC (Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council) recently published its Calf welfare guidelines to which GI’s Dairy calf management guidelines are fully aligned. A Calf Welfare Programme will be developed between DAFM and the broader industry stakeholders, to give effect to the Charter.

The terms of the ICOS Calf Welfare Charter

  1. On farm euthanasia of healthy calves is prohibited.
  2. It is not acceptable for herds supplying milk to have an on-farm calf mortality rate that is significantly higher than the normal prevailing range except under exceptional circumstances, e.g. disease outbreak.  
  3. The responsibility lies with DAFM to implement animal welfare regulations.
  4. Dairy and beef stakeholders will commit to the development and adoption of breeding technologies and practices to increase the quality and value of calves from the dairy herd.  
  5. Slaughter may only be carried out in licensed facilities, and the industry commits to the phasing out of the practice.  
  6. Milk suppliers must adhere to best practice in relation to the rearing, housing and feeding of calves, in line with industry best practice guidelines.
  7. Dairy and beef stakeholders will establish a defined programme to support the implementation of the Charter.


The terms of the ICOS Calf Welfare Charter already form part of GI’s milk purchasing policies and are reflected in several programmes offered by GI in support of our milk supplying herds.

Through our Dairy Calf Management Guidelines, the GAIN Dairy Heifer Rearing Programme and the GI/Kepak Twenty/20 Beef Club, Glanbia Ireland promotes best practice calf husbandry protocols. These initiatives demonstrate Glanbia Ireland’s leadership in advancing calf welfare and our continued drive for further adoption of the highest standards in calf husbandry.

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