Calf exports fall by 30%

Up to 3,000 British calves a week are being saved from fattening in continental veal crates since major ferry companies ceased to transport livestock, estimates published yesterday suggest.

Calf exports have fallen by 30 per cent as public concern about animal rights has risen during recent weeks. At the trade's peak, in 1993, around 10,000 calves a week - 500,000 a year - were exported.

Officials of the Meat and Livestock Commission, the statutory body representing the livestock industry, said that estimates suggested that only around 7,000 calves a week are being exported at present.

Last year's ban on live exports by major ferry firms, and the refusal by some local authorities to permit the trade, have taken their toll. The reduction in exports has been mirrored by a 25 per cent fall in calf prices at market.

Commission officials believe that male dairy calves staying in Britain are being kept on the farms, and that there is no evidence animals are being slaughtered shortly after birth. Live sheep exports are also down by 50 per cent on last year's figures.

Officials say that farmers' incomes could be significantly hit next year if the problems are not solved or alternative uses found for the calves and meat no longer being exported. The commission has organised two conferences in April to address these issues.

A new report by the commission suggests that in future the number of calves Britain exports abroad could be halved permanently and the number of sheep exported could be cut by 70 per cent. This would mean that the number of calves exported could fall from 500,000 to 250,000 and that the number of sheep exported could fall from 1.9 million to 570,000.

The price of lamb and beef to British consumers could fall significantly in the wake of more animals being slaughtered in the United Kingdom, the commission says, unless a raft of new measures are introduced to increase exports, improve meat quality, find new markets and protect premium prices.