Indicators for on-farm self-assessment of animal welfare – Example: dairy cows

Abstract

The “on-farm self-assessment” specified by the Animal Welfare Act from 2014 requires the livestock keeper to assess and monitor appropriate animal-based measures (“animal welfare indicators”) with the aim to achieve higher individual responsibility of livestock keepers for the well-being of their animals. The assessment serves to raise awareness among livestock keepers and to enable them to identify any weaknesses existing. As the Animal Welfare Act does not contain any secondary legislation, there has so far been a lack of more precise provisions regarding the content and scope of the self-assessment system. In order to identify appropriate indicators which address the most important animal welfare problems known from practice, around 50 experts have selected indicators for assessing animal welfare with regard to reliability, validity and practicability. In on-farm self-assessment, the sets of largely animal-based indicators selected for cattle, pigs and poultry (hens and turkeys) should be surveyed and evaluated as completely as possible. Integration into farm management systems is recommended. This paper exemplarily presents the set of indicators proposed for dairy cattle.