Blade Farming Ltd/Southern Counties Fresh Foods Ltd
Richard Phelps, Managing Director: “We are one of the dairy farmer’s largest customers for black and white calves and handle large volumes for beef production. The UK is not self sufficient in beef and these calves are valuable to industry.

“Blade Farming has a unique supply chain and finishes calves from different types of dairy bred cattle. More recently we began working with Tesco on a UK rose veal system, which has really helped dairy farmers find an alternative market to live exports. 

“We are delighted we can work with dairy farmers and retailers to find alternatives to live exports.”

British Friesian Breeders Club 
“The British Friesian Breeders Club recognises the substantial contribution that CIWF and RSPCA have made in bringing together the main players in the food chain, in order to develop a route by which more dairy bull calves are retained for the home market, through their greater suitability for finishing. The Club looks forward to playing its part in the supply of suitable breeding alternatives, to ensure these quality calves".

Compassion in World Farming
Philip Lymbery, Chief Executive: ““This collaborative approach to improving animal welfare is truly ground breaking. We hope that these measures will now be implemented by all stakeholders so that we can move beyond calf exports and bring lasting and mutual benefits to animal welfare and industry alike."

Eastbrook Farm (Helen Browning's Totally Organic) 
Helen Browning: “We can only safeguard calves from export or on farm culling, if people will buy humanely produced veal or young beef from these dairy breeds. Our trial with Tesco is really vital to establish whether customers will enjoy this delicious meat. If sales are satisfactory, we will then be able to work with other organic farmers to build up the supply to make rosé veal more widely available.”

Holstein UK 
“Holstein UK supports the need for the development of a home market for dairy bull calves. It must be remembered that farmers at least have a market through export, and it must be understood that if this is to be prevented, and more dairy bull calves reared, it is critical that an economically viable alternative rearing, finishing and most importantly market for dairy bull calves must be established. Farmers cannot carry the cost of rearing and finishing animals at a financial loss and with major retailers importing a percentage of their beef, there is room for expansion of our home, quality produced product.”

Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services 
Cllr Geoffrey Theobald OBE, Chairman of LACORS: “We wholeheartedly support the development of economically viable outlets within the UK for the half a million male calves that are either killed soon after birth or exported to continental veal farms every year.

“Not only would this promote the welfare of these animals but it would also help further develop the UK farming industry and strengthen the local communities and economies which rely heavily on agriculture for their continued success. Such steps would also provide further sources of local, sustainable produce.''

National Beef Association
"At present the UK beef industry is only 77 per cent self sufficient and imports over 300,000 tonnes of beef each year to make up the gap between production and consumption.

If 150,000 -200,000 Holstein bull calves are reared within the UK each year instead of either being killed at birth, or exported to veal rearing units in other EU countries, it would increase domestic production by 65,000-75,000 tonnes and help to prevent the price of other domestic beef animals being undercut by discounted imports from counties whose production standards are often lower than our own."

National Farmers’ Union (NFU)
Peter Kendall, President of the NFU: “We are delighted to be able to support this initiative to develop value added markets and systems for dairy bred calves.
“We have always argued that unilateral trade bans on welfare grounds are invariably counter-productive, because they shift a problem somewhere else, possibly making it even worse, rather than offering a genuine solution.
“The key to reducing calf exports is to develop markets that will mean that the calves are worth more at home than they would be abroad. That way, everyone wins, including the calves themselves.”

McDonald’s
"McDonald's is proud of their long term commitment in supporting British farming and strong track record in improving animal welfare standards. McDonald's is pleased to continue these commitments through their support of the Beyond Beef Exports Stakeholders Forum. McDonald's takes its role as a responsible customer seriously and hopes the recommendations of the Forum will lead to improved animal welfare standards for male dairy calves within an economically viable framework."

Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative (OMSCo)
“OMSCo is very pleased to be a part of this initiative, which aims to tackle a difficult but important issue for the dairy industry.”
Huw Bowles, OMSCo’s Chief Operating Officer said “The Forum has already led to the initiation of a number of projects which will improve the plight of male dairy calves and we are confident that further improvements will take place as a result of the work of the group.“

Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF)
RABDF chairman, Lyndon Edwards: “We welcome this initiative to find a home market for dairy bull calves. If it becomes really successful, eventually there may no longer be any calves available for export. In fact, dairy farmers would be much happier if they could rear all their calves to produce prime British beef. The practice of having no alternative but to put them down is one of the most depressing aspects of a farmer’s life.” 

RSPCA 
David Bowles, Head of External Affairs for the RSPCA: "This report is a major milestone in the work to find alternative outlets for excess male calves. The RSPCA helped to found the Calf Forum because a solution to the welfare problems has to work for farmers and supermarkets, if it's going to stick. The Calf Forum gives us our best shot ever because of the wide range of knowledge and expertise involved.

"The live veal export trade is fraught with risks for these very young animals. Scientific research shows that long distance transport can have serious negative effects on calves and the sea crossing adds to the problems they face. At the end of the journey, many veal rearing systems on the continent simply don't satisfy calves' welfare needs and indeed would be illegal in Britain."

Sainsbury’s
“Sainsbury’s have been members of the Forum since June 06 when it was first convened, and support the forum’s aims to increase the opportunities for using dairy bred male calves in the UK beef and veal supply chains thereby reducing the need to export live calves to the continent”.

Soil Association 
Phil Stocker, Head of Food and Farming: “The Soil Association is delighted to be involved in the Forum. We are determined to help find ethical solutions for calves and to support all those who are working towards this end.”

Tesco
Michelle Waterman, Agriculture Manager: “Tesco’s commitment to farm animal welfare has been demonstrated by our participation in the Beyond Calf Exports Stakeholders Forum. We hope that our new initiative will set an example of what can be done. As we’ve just announced 930 dairy farmers supplying milk to Tesco have agreed they will no longer export dairy calves. 
Instead the calves will be used to supply British beef and British veal to shoppers. 

“Tesco has developed a fully integrated system that links dairy and beef producers to make it easier for the calves to enter the UK beef supply chain. We know that the live export of calves to the Continent is a highly emotive subject for customers. This is an important welfare issue and independent research shows that the majority of shoppers want this practice to end. We are proud of our record on welfare and are pleased to be taking this important step.”

Trading Standards Institute
"The Trading Standards Institute has been delighted to have been involved in this initiative, which has brought together the main parties involved in the United Kingdom livestock industry, ranging from producers to welfare organisations. The Forum has come up with a positive solution to a problem that has been a matter of concern for a number of years. It should now ensure that a sustainable market can be found for male calves in the UK. Trading Standards Officers are responsible for the enforcement of legislation relating to the welfare of animals being transported and those on farm premises; we welcome any initiative that will reduce the possibility of non compliance and to ensure that the welfare of the calves is the highest priority. The Trading Standards Institute would like to extend thanks to Compassion in World Farming and the RSPCA for facilitating the forum".

Westpoint Veterinary Group Ltd

“Replacement heifers are valuable but dairy bulls should also have a future * there is nothing worse than seeing apparently healthy animals destroyed due to the lack of a viable market,” says vet Rob Drysdale from Westpoint Veterinary Group. “Westpoint believes the industry must and will improve: the Beyond Calf Export Forum will help guide these changes.

Calves from the dairy herd present a viable option for beef producers in the future as the UK beef herd contracts. Linking the supply chain between dairy farmer, calf rearer and the beef finisher does work and this model can be expanded to meet further beef needs.  Westpoint vets are already involved in this process working with its own dairy herds producing some 25,000 calves annually, Blade Farming SW with over 17,000 calves reared this year and as consultants to one of the major retailers.

As one of the largest farm animal practices in the UK, Westpoint is proud to have been involved in helping produce this report. The practice knows that high welfare and best practice are at the heart of profitable beef production.”