Assessment and clarification of animal welfare improvements in small housing dairy farms in Japan

To assess the current situation and clarify animal welfare improvements in small housing dairy farms in Japan, animal welfare levels of three tie-stall farms (19-28 cows/farm) and two free-stall farms (30-63 cows/farm) were assessed using the Welfare Quality® Assessment protocol (WQP). In addition, animal management conditions of the farms were evaluated by observation of maintenance behavior and analysis of milk components. By using WQP, one tie-stall farm was evaluated as “not classified” and the others as “acceptable.” As per the criteria of WQP, “ease of movement” was higher in free-stall farms, but “comfort around resting” (0-44.5 points), “Good human-animal relationship” (27.0-71.7 points) and “positive emotional states” (20.8-82.5 points) varied widely among farms, irrespective of the stall type. Maintenance behavior, such as time budgets of feeding behavior (12.1-28.5%) and resting behavior (31.5-53.2%), was also significantly different among farms (P