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Care Board reverses decision on veal crates

It was at the March 1 Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board meeting that the board voted to remove the “turnaround language,” in the veal standards, a decision that was not well received, in fact, board member Jeff Wuebker of Darke County, said 4,700 e-comments were received during the 2-week comment period.

On Tuesday, during the Care Board’s April 5 meeting, with several hundred attending, including two busloads of people wearing t-shirts that read, “let the calves turn around,” the board reversed its earlier decision and reinserted the language.

“It was a tough decision for our board,” said Wuebker. “But it was a unanimous decision after we discussed it, to put the “turnaround language” back in the veal standard.”

Wuebker says that means veal producers in Ohio will have until December 31, 2017 to meet the veal standards.

“Any veal calf that is raised in Ohio will need to be in a pen large enough for it to turnaround in the first 10-weeks of the production cycle,” Wuebker said. “And then during the second 10-weeks of the production cycle those calves will have to be in groups of 2 calves or more.”

The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board will meet again on April 19 when it’s possible, Wuebker tells Brownfield, that all of the specie specific standards could be finalized and then begin moving through the process of becoming law, possibly by late July or early August.

Audio: Jeff Wuebker, member, Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board (12:40 MP3)

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