Welchen Einfluss hat der Weidegang auf das Tierwohl von Milchkühen? Erste Ergebnisse des Welfare Quality Protokolls bei ganzjähriger Stallhaltung und Sommerweidegang

Grazing provides livestock better opportunities to act out their species specific behaviour compared to the restrictive stable conditions. Studies on the effect of grazing on animal welfare in dairy farming in Germany are rare and have not been conducted under the specific conditions of organic dairy farming. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of grazing on animal welfare of dairy cows in organic and conventional farming based on the Welfare Quality® protocol for dairy cattle. In this paper, we present the initial evaluation of a comparison between zero grazing and summer grazing. The first results indicate an improvement in most welfare principles during the summer months for dairy cows with summer grazing, except for between winter and summer in zero grazing farms. In conclusion, grazing offers a great potential for improved animal welfare, while the benefitial effects of grazing are not guaranteed in event of suboptimal management.