On 25 February 2025, the Rotterdam District Court ruled in a criminal case against two dairy farmers (partnership) for failing to comply with legal obligations on animal welfare. The farmers were accused of failing to provide hygienic lying areas for the animals, suitable feed and a safe living environment. The case had been brought following inspections by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), which found a number of violations at the farm.

Control and requirement NVWA

The NVWA identified the following shortcomings during inspections on 13 and 21 February 2023 and earlier on 21 September 2021:

• Poor hygiene: Cattle stayed in pens with wet manure, without clean and dry lying areas.
• Risk of inappropriate feed: The offered feed was mixed with faeces of other animals (chickens and calves).
• Risk of injury: There were sharp and dangerous objects, such as metal plates, pipes and barbed wire, in the stables and yard.
• Poor living conditions: Cattle in the pastures were up to their knees in mud, which would be bad for their health.

The public prosecutor, Mr S.M. van der Kallen, demanded a fine of €10,000 and a conditional shutdown of the partnership for six months, with a probation period of two years.

Defending livestock owners

The defence, represented by Mr J.L. Baar, argued for acquittal based on:

• Insufficient evidence: The defence stressed that the charges were insufficiently substantiated and that previous judgments of the Hague Court of Appeal were irrelevant.
• No legal violation: According to the defence, the items at issue at the hearing did not fall under the term "stable or enclosure" and were arranged in such a way that the animals could not directly injure themselves.
• Combating hygiene problems: According to the defence, the animals did have clean lying areas and the food supply was in order.

Proven facts by court

The court found the following facts proven:

• The cattle had no hygienic lying areas and were forced to lie in their own dung-
• The feed was contaminated with chicken and calf dung, posing health risks-
• The stable and pasture contain dangerous objects, such as sharp metal plates and protruding nails-
• Cattle could get stuck in the mud, endangering their welfare-

The court found no evidence that there was a lack of clean drinking water and that a vet should have been called earlier for a sick bovine and calf

Legal assessment

Based on the Animals Act and the Animal Keepers Decree, the court concluded that the livestock keepers had acted in violation of the legal requirements on animal welfare- The judges stressed that the livestock keepers are responsible for the living conditions of the animals and that structural deficiencies can no longer be tolerated-

Judgement and conclusion

The court convicted the livestock farmers based on the proven facts. As the problem was structural, a fine was appropriate. However, the requirement of conditional shutdown was not imposed as this was considered too severe a punishment- The livestock farmers were fined €10,000, of which €5000 was conditional with a probationary period of two years. This requires the livestock farmers to comply with animal welfare regulations. The partnership was not shut down as this was not considered proportionate.

The court concluded that the livestock farmers had failed to take care of their animals. Despite repeated inspections and warnings, the situation remained unchanged. The fine and probationary period imposed should ensure that in the future the practice changes its way of working and the animals are better cared for.

Source: Fine for dairy farmers who kept 116 cattle in unhygienic and dangerous conditions