2026-04-14T05:25:00Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:20.500.12327/22232025-10-22T11:04:31Zcom_2072_4428com_2072_4427col_2072_487898

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW) author Nielsen, Søren Saxmose author Alvarez, Julio author Bicout, Dominique Joseph author Calistri, Paolo author Canali, Elisabetta author Drewe, Julian Ashley author Garin-Bastuji, Bruno author Gonzales Rojas, Jose Luis author Gortázar Schmidt, Christian author Herskin, Mette author Michel, Virginie author Miranda Chueca, Miguel Ángel author Padalino, Barbara author Roberts, Helen Clare author Spoolder, Hans author Stahl, Karl author Velarde, Antonio author Viltrop, Arvo author De Boyer des Roches, Alice author Bak Jensen, Margit author Mee, John author Green, Martin author Thulke, Hans-Hermann author Bailly-Caumette, Elea author Candiani, Denise author Lima, Eliana author Van der Stede, Yves author Winckler, Christoph author 2023-05-16 This Scientific Opinion addresses a European Commission's mandate on the welfare of dairy cows as part of the Farm to Fork strategy. It includes three assessments carried out based on literature reviews and complemented by expert opinion. Assessment 1 describes the most prevalent housing systems for dairy cows in Europe: tie-stalls, cubicle housing, open-bedded systems and systems with access to an outdoor area. Per each system, the scientific opinion describes the distribution in the EU and assesses the main strengths, weaknesses and hazards potentially reducing the welfare of dairy cows. Assessment 2 addresses five welfare consequences as requested in the mandate: locomotory disorders (including lameness), mastitis, restriction of movement and resting problems, inability to perform comfort behaviour and metabolic disorders. Per each welfare consequence, a set of animal-based measures is suggested, a detailed analysis of the prevalence in different housing systems is provided, and subsequently, a comparison of the housing systems is given. Common and specific system-related hazards as well as management-related hazards and respective preventive measures are investigated. Assessment 3 includes an analysis of farm characteristics (e.g. milk yield, herd size) that could be used to classify the level of on-farm welfare. From the available scientific literature, it was not possible to derive relevant associations between available farm data and cow welfare. Therefore, an approach based on expert knowledge elicitation (EKE) was developed. The EKE resulted in the identification of five farm characteristics (more than one cow per cubicle at maximum stocking density, limited space for cows, inappropriate cubicle size, high on-farm mortality and farms with less than 2 months access to pasture). If one or more of these farm characteristics are present, it is recommended to conduct an assessment of cow welfare on the farm in question using animal-based measures for specified welfare consequences. Nielsen, Søren Saxmose, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe, and Bruno Garin‐Bastuji et al. 2023. " Welfare of dairy cows". EFSA Journal 21 (5). doi:10.2903/j.efsa. 2023.7993. 1831-4732 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/2223 https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2023.7993 Welfare of dairy cows