Does the UK regulate the height of calf hutches relative to the calves living in them?
<p>In a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/30/dairy-scary-public-farming-calves-pens-alternatives" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2017 story</a> this photo was circulated:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/NGOoV.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/NGOoV.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>with the text:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Welfare legislation says that calves should only be held in solitary pens until they are eight weeks old, but Animal Equality claims that the battery calves it photographed at Grange Dairy in Dorset are up to six months old – too large for their hutches– and say that some have grazes on their backs. But trading standard officers say there is no evidence of any breach of animal welfare requirements.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm specifically not asking about the EU regulations because on many animal welfare issues (especially on bovines) the UK has had stricter or sooner-adopted standards, e.g. it banned &quot;veal crates&quot; before the EU did and also I read <a href="https://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/cows/veal-calves/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">that</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Older UK calves have greater space allowance than stipulated in EU law.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, is the height of the hutches regulated in the UK at least relative to the calves inside them?</p>

<p>Well, thanks to James' hint, I <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69368/pb7949-cattle-code-030407.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">found</a> the UK's <em>Code of Recommendations for
the Welfare of Livestock - Cattle</em>, which does say:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000 No. 1870) Schedule 4, states that:</p>
<p>1-(1) No calf shall be confined in an individual stall
or pen after the age of eight weeks unless a
veterinary surgeon certifies that its health or
behaviour requires it to be isolated in order to
receive treatment.</p>
<p>(2) the width of any individual stall or pen for a
calf shall be at least equal to the height of the
calf at the withers, measured in the standing
position, and the length shall be at least equal to
the body length of the calf, measured from the
tip of the nose to the caudal edge of the tuber
ischii (pin bone), multiplied by 1.1.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Interestingly, the height of the pen is not explicitly regulated (although the <em>width</em> of the pen is regulation-bound to the height of the calf in it).</p>
<p>Furthermore, the document does mention hutches further on, but only requires that they have &quot;a lying area which is well-maintained with dry bedding&quot;:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Bedding and lying area
10.-(1) All calves shall be provided with appropriate
bedding.
(2) All calves shall be kept on, or at all times have
access to, a lying area which is clean, comfortable
and well-drained and which does not adversely
affect the calves.
(3) All housed calves and calves kept in hutches
or temporary structures shall be kept on, or at all
times have access to, a lying area which is well-maintained with dry bedding.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The height of the animal is also mentioned with respect to loading and unloading from transport(s).</p>
<p>But it looks (like I suspected) that height of hutches is not <em>explicitly</em> regulated. Now implicitly in some extreme case (of seriously insufficient height) it might violate some general provisions of welfare stated somewhere else... but I guess these may be more open to interpretation. Probably the most specific one being:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>1-(5) Each calf shall be able to stand up, turn around, lie down, rest and groom itself without hindrance.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This isn't stated in relation to some specific accommodation like a pen or hutch, so presumably it applies to all kinds. A calf is actually defined as &quot;any animal under six months old&quot; at least in the Recommendations (not citing some specific regulation part). Otherwise there are some more general provisions:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England)
Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000 No. 1870) Schedule 1,
paragraph 9 states that:</p>
<ul>
<li>The freedom of movement of animals, having
regard to their species and in accordance with
established experience and scientific knowledge,
shall not be restricted in such a way as to cause
them unnecessary suffering or injury.</li>
</ul>
<p>Schedule 1, paragraph 10 states that, where
animals are continuously or regularly tethered or
confined:</p>
<ul>
<li>they shall be given space appropriate to their
physiological and ethological needs in accordance
with established experience and scientific
knowledge.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

united-kingdom