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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Court of Justice of the European Communities (including Court of First Instance Decisions) >> Endendijk (Agriculture) [2008] EUECJ C-187/07 (03 April 2008) URL: https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2008/C18707.html Cite as: [2008] EUECJ C-187/07, [2008] EUECJ C-187/7, [2008] ECR I-2115 |
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(Directive 91/629/EEC Decision 97/182/EC Rearing of calves Individual pens Prohibition on tethering calves Meaning of the verb 'tether' Material and length Different language versions Uniform interpretation)
In Case C-187/07,
REFERENCE for a preliminary ruling under Article 234 EC from the Rechtbank Zutphen (Netherlands), made by decision of 19 February 2007, received at the Court on 3 April 2007, in the criminal proceedings against
Dirk Endendijk,
composed of U. Lõhmus, President of the Chamber, P. Lindh and A. Arabadjiev (Rapporteur), Judges,
Advocate General: Y. Bot,
Registrar: H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar,
having regard to the written procedure and further to the hearing on 9 January 2008,
after considering the observations submitted on behalf of:
Dirk Endendijk, by J.T.A.M. Mierlo, advocaat,
the Netherlands Government, by C. Wissels and D.J.M. de Grave, acting as Agents,
the Belgian Government, by A. Hubert, acting as Agent,
the Greek Government, by V. Kontolaimos and S. Charitaki, acting as Agents,
the Commission of the European Communities, by F. Erlbacher and M. van Heezik, acting as Agents,
having decided, after hearing the Advocate General, to proceed to judgment without an Opinion,
gives the following
Legal context
Community legislation
'From 1 January 1998, the following provisions shall apply on all newly built or rebuilt holdings and on all those brought into use after that date:
(a) no calf shall be confined in an individual pen after the age of eight weeks, unless a veterinarian certifies that its health or behaviour requires it to be isolated in order to receive treatment. ...
...'
'Where tethers are used, they must not cause injury to the calves and must be inspected regularly and adjusted as necessary to ensure a comfortable fit. Each tether must be of sufficient length to allow the calves to move as stipulated in [point] 7 [that is, to lie down, rest, stand up and groom themselves without difficulty and to see other calves]. The design must be such as to avoid, as far as possible, any risk of strangulation or injury.'
'Whereas tethering of calves causes problems; whereas for that reason individually penned calves should not be tethered and group-housed calves may only be tethered for a short period at the time of feeding milk.'
'Calves shall not be tethered, with the exception of group-housed calves which may be tethered for periods of not more than one hour at the time of feeding milk or milk substitute. Where tethers are used, they shall not cause injury to the calves and shall be inspected regularly and adjusted as necessary to ensure a comfortable fit. Each tether shall be designed to avoid the risk of strangulation or injury and to allow the calf to move in accordance with point 7 [that is, to lie down, to rest, stand up and groom itself without difficulty].'
National legislation
'Calves housed in individual pens and those over eight weeks old intended to be raised as steers shall not be tethered.'
'Calves shall be kept only in conditions which comply with the first sentence of point 8 of the Annex [to Amended Directive 91/629].'
The dispute in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling
'1. How is the word 'tethered', within the meaning of [Amended] Directive 91/629 ... to be interpreted?
2. Is the material, the length or the purpose of the tethering of any significance in that respect?'
The questions referred
Costs
On those grounds, the Court (Seventh Chamber) hereby rules:
A calf is tethered within the meaning of Council Directive 91/629/EEC of 19 November 1991 laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves, as amended by Commission Decision 97/182/EC of 24 February 1997, where it is tied by a rope, irrespective of the material, length and purpose of that rope.
[Signatures]
* Language of the case: Dutch.