This document discusses animal welfare in commercial dairy operations. It defines animal welfare as an animal's ability to cope with its environment physically and mentally. The five freedoms framework is introduced as indicators of good welfare: freedom from hunger/thirst, discomfort, pain/injury/disease, freedom to express natural behaviors, and freedom from fear and distress. Current dairy practices that may compromise welfare are discussed, such as inadequate housing, nutrition, calf rearing and health issues. The document calls on vets to promote animal welfare knowledge and research to help harmonize welfare in commercial dairy systems.

1. ‘Welfare of Cattle’
in Commercial Dairy Operations
Khushboo Gupta & Dr.M.L.Kamboj
Coordinator-Farm Senior Scientist
Animals, LPM, NDRI
FIAPO

2. What is Animal Welfare?
• The ability of an animal to cope
physiologically, behaviorally, cognitively and emotionally
with its physiochemical and social life
environment, including the animal‟s subjective
experience of its condition
(Gonyou, 1993; Duncan & Fraser,1997;Scott,2004)
• State of well-being, in which at least basic needs are met
and suffering is minimized
(Spedding, 2000)

3. Oie- Office International Des Epizooties
on Animal Welfare
“Animal welfare means how an animal is coping with the conditions
in which it lives. An animal is in a good state of welfare if (as
indicated by scientific evidence) it is healthy, comfortable, well
nourished, safe, able to express innate behaviour, and if it is not
suffering from unpleasant states such as pain, fear, and distress”
Good animal welfare requires disease prevention and veterinary
treatment, appropriate shelter, management, nutrition and humane
handling

4. Why Animal Welfare?
• Animals are sentient beings: Emotional
aspect of using animals
• The reality of dairy industry is different
from what is shown in advertisements for
publicity of animal products
• Consumer awareness
• “Well managed and gently handled
animals are productive than anxious
animals , or those handled roughly”
(Pawelek &
Croney,2003)

5. Indian dairy industry- A brief overview
• India has a population of 199.1 Million cows
and 105.3 Million buffalos(2007 Census)
• Prevalence of cross bred cows & various
breeds of buffalo
• Dairying as a tool for rural empowerment-
livelihood & food security
• Specially for small farmers
• Shift in nature of dairying: from household to
commercial
• Completely production oriented
• Dairy industry superficially regulated

6. Prevailing Milk Production Systems
{Typologies}
• Large commercial dairy
• Urban & peri- urban dairy
• Small holder backyard farmers
• Government farms & breeding centres
• Gaushalas

7. Milk production to be doubled by 2020
• Strengthening of present small holder
in the country
OR
• Start large commercial units with
numerous milk producing cows

8. Dairy Industry

9. But within this market…
Loser

10. Welfare considerations in commercial
dairy operations
The Five freedoms
Indicators
Practices

11. Freedom from
thirst, hunger
and
Freedom malnutrition
Freedom to
from express
discomfort normal
due to behavior for
environment the species
The
5
Freedoms
Freedom
Freedom
from
from fear
pain, injury
and distress
and disease

12. Freedom statement What it entails
Freedom from Hunger and Thirst Ready access to fresh water and a diet to
maintain full health and vigour
Freedom from Discomfort Providing an appropriate environment
including shelter and a comfortable resting
area.
Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease Prevention or rapid diagnosis and
treatment.
Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour Providing sufficient space, proper facilities
and company of the animal's own kind.
Freedom from Fear and Distress Ensuring conditions and treatment which
avoid mental suffering.

13. Indicators of Reduced
Animal Welfare
Bar biting Milk
Tongue rolling Reduced feed production
Wind sucking intake, decreased,
Cut
Inter/Cross- Immune Body Weight
Injury
sucking suppression, decreased,
Body damage
Eye rolling Adrenal activity Reproduction
Tail biting altered impaired,

14. Cheap milk is good but the cows
are losing…….

15. Production & Reproduction
• Growth hormones
- bST
• Diet related/ nutritional problems
- challenge feeding, milk fever ( calcium
intake vs milk extraction) etc
• „One calf an year‟
- Metabolism of animal & male calves
- Longevity
- Effect on consistent productivity

16. Housing
• Tie stalls
“Mammary infections and/or teat injuries have been found into be
more common in cows kept in tie stalls compared to cows kept in
free stalls or straw yards”
(Hultgren J.2002)
• Lying space
“Lying behaviour plays a critical role in the production potential,
profitability and welfare status of intensively managed dairy cattle.
When cows are deprived of adequate lying time, their welfare may
be reduced”
(Fregonesi & Leaver (2001) & Cooper et al. (2008) )
• Freedom of movement

17. Typical daily time budget for a lactating
dairy cow
Activity Time devoted to activity per day
Eating 3 to 5 h (9 to 14 meals/d)
Lying/resting 12 to 14 h
Social interactions 2 to 3 h
Ruminating 7 to 10 h
Drinking 30 min
Outside pen (milking, travel
2.5 to 3.5 h
time)
Grant and Albright, 2000

18. Cows have a strong behavioral need to rest
Relationship between resting time and milk yield in dairy cows
Grant, 2004

19. Cows will take more rest when
• Microclimate inside the house is comfortable
• Comfortable resting place is available
• They are not over crowded
• Surface of the floor is conducive for rest
- not hot in summers
- not cool in winters
- not slippery

20. In order to maximize milk production, a cow should
spend over 12 hours, or more than 50% of her
day, lying in a stall or a pasture
Ryan A., 2010

21. Flooring
• Concrete floors
“ The presence of excreta on walking surfaces causes discomfort to
cows and predisposes them to developing leg and foot problems”
(Wells et al. 2008)
• The greater use of free stall housing with concrete floors may be
contributing to reproductive loss.
(Phillips and Morris, 2001)
• Concrete flooring has also been blamed for a higher incidence of
lameness in modern dairy cows
Lame cows with claw lesions (approximately 18% of the herd) were
half as likely to conceive when compared to healthy cows
(Hernandez et al., 2001)

23. Concrete
floor
Stress Lameness Diet
Decline in
performance

24. Calf Rearing
• Separation from mother
(Day old weaning)
• Feed to calves
-Biased feeding
-Male in
buffalos, female in local &
draught breeds
• Male calves (young &
adult)
- Disposal in young and
adult mainly in cross bred
cows
-
Unwanted, uncared, unno

26. Other problems…
• Inadequate feeding
-Increased aggression in the feeding area when
cows are overcrowded has been noted by a number
of researchers (Olofsson, 1999; DeVries et al., 2004; DeVries and
von Keyserlingk, 2006,Huzzey et al., 2006)
• Frequent re -grouping
• Locomotion and activity
• Physical- Lameness, mastitis, tail docking, de
horning
• Branding
• Handling, transport & slaughter

27. Are current dairy production systems
ethical?
Considerations:
– Animal welfare
• Is the animal harmed?
• Are the animals‟ needs met?
– Human obligations
• Are the animals being used responsibly?
• What is the impact on the environment?
(Croney,
2004)

28. Dairy operators’ approach to welfare
• Many would like to spend more on
improving cow health and welfare
– But variation in attitudes
• Not always clear return on investment for
health / welfare matters

29. Fears in adopting animal welfare
• Unclear about what it entails
• Avoid making large, expensive
changes
• Unaware of the impacts of poor
animal welfare
• Misconception that animal welfare is
being taken care of

30. Who will improve the condition then?
Vets?

31. YOU can make a difference to lives of
thousands of animals at dairies!
 By enhancing your knowledge on animal
welfare
 By introducing your students to this concept &
 By including AW in course curricula- UG & PG
level
 By encouraging research in this area
 By publishing scholarly articles on
‘harmonizing animal welfare in dairy
operations’
 By vocalizing animal welfare at scientific fora
 By advising commercial dairy operators to
adopt welfare practices

32. FIAPO’s efforts….
• Developing scientific scaling methods
to assess welfare of dairy cows
across different typologies of milk
production units in India
• Development of strategy to promote
animal welfare of dairy animals

33. Possible Strategy to promote AW
• Development of a national code of dairy standards
• Incorporation of dairy standards in the Bureau of
Indian Standards
• Up gradation of Registration of cattle premises rules
• Work with Animal Husbandry departments to adopt
dairy code
• AH depts. to include animal welfare indicators such
as housing and waste disposal as eligibility for dairy
promotion schemes

34. Strategy continued…..
• Invoke India’s commitment to international covenants
and treaties
• IEC to farmers
• Capacity building of cooperatives to ensure
functionaries to ensure compliance of animal welfare
practices by their members.
• NIAW to run training programme on animal welfare best
practices in dairy operations
• Consumer outreach & public awareness
• Network of dairy scientists & progressive dairy farmers

35. Applying good animal welfare can be
as simple as applying good
husbandry practices on consistent
basis

36. Good animal welfare
EQUALS
Better health
Improved productivity
Quality products
Increased overall profitability

37. I can be reached at-
Email: khushboo@fiapo.org
Contact: 09717867045
THANK YOU!
www.fiapo.org