welfare

This long-awaited law will ensure that Britain will never return to the dark days of exporting up to 2.5 million sheep and calves annually to Europe or beyond for slaughter or fattening. Photo: Chris McCullough

21-05-2024 | News

Great Britain becomes first European region to ban live animal exports

The Agency recommends adopting a system of five welfare levels, from the highest (A) to the lowest (E). Level E corresponds solely to compliance with the requirements imposed by European legislation on animal welfare, whether during rearing, transport or slaughter. Photo: Canva

13-05-2024 | News

Why current animal welfare labelling is not enough

A cow being manipulated by an osteopath during the trial. Four EFOA osteopaths took part in the trial, manipulating Prim'Hostein cows. Photo: EFOA and Lab To Field

08-05-2024 | News

Osteopathy: A new approach to improving dairy cow production?

Apart from brushes, enrichment opportunities in the dairy sector have been limited. Photo: Henk Riswick

22-04-2024 | News

Researchers assess environmental enrichment for dairy cows

The dairy heifers trained with positive reinforcement showed more anticipatory behaviours in the start box than the control group. Photo: Canva

26-03-2024 | News

Reducing dairy cow stress with positive reinforcement

The trial looks at keeping the cow and calf together for three months. Photos: Dr Sivan Lacker

04-03-2024 | News

Israeli project examines benefits of keeping calves for longer with mothers

In their study published in the Journal of Dairy Science, researchers found that measuring non-verbal communication (in addition to common verbal communication) between vets and farmers during routine herd health consultations, is key to unlocking barriers for adopting biosecurity measures. Photo: Van Assendelft Fotografie

12-02-2024 | Article

Drivers and barriers in disease control and welfare in dairy

When evaluating the comfort of the lying area, there are several things to look out for. There may be cases where the resting area may not always be optimal. The main goal is always to have enough space so all the animals can lie comfortably at the same time. Photo: Canva

19-12-2023 | Expert opinion

What makes a good lying area for dairy cattle?

A first step in evaluating the effects of cow-calf on lactation milk yield is to provide accurate estimates of the total amount of milk that the cow produces. Photo: Canva

24-10-2023 | Article

How much saleable milk is lost in a cow-calf contact system?

In the EU - some nations have domestic legal requirements for dairy cattle welfare, while in others it is left to industry standards or niche production requirements that are linked to various premium labels. Photo: Mark Pasveer

16-10-2023 | News

Comparing dairy cow welfare standards across Europe