ABSTRACT
Despite the images of cows with their calves in a field that are used to sell milk, very few lactating dairy cattle in Europe or North America are kept this way. In North America many (if not most) lactating cows are kept in indoor housing throughout the year (so-called ‘zero grazing’), while the vast majority of calves are separated from their mothers within hours or at most days of birth, and many of these are housed indoors. Housing conditions affect animals throughout their life. Many modern housing systems involve keeping animals indoors, in a restricted space, often at high density and separated from other animals, which raises concerns about the animals’ welfare. Housing can impact animal welfare mainly by changing the risk that animals will suffer from health and injuries, or by placing restrictions on their behaviour. In this chapter, I examine some of research that has been done into the welfare issues that arise from the physical and social aspects of the housing. Covering all aspects of the housing of dairy cattle is beyond the scope of this chapter and so I focus on some of the more current and controversial aspects of how the housing method impacts the animals’ welfare. Since the lactating cow and un-weaned calves are the dairy animals most at risk of welfare problems, (and for which most research has been done) I restrict the review to these.
