Pilarczyk Bogumiła, Pilarczyk Renata, Bąkowska Małgorzata, Tomza-Marciniak Agnieszka, Seremak Beata, Kwita Ewa, Juszczak-Czasnojć Marta, Matusevičius Paulius, Mišeikienė Ramutė
Department of Animal Reproduction Biotechnology and Environmental Hygiene, Faculty of Biotechnology and Animal Husbandry, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Klemensa Janickiego 29, 71-270 Szczecin, Poland.
Laboratory of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Animal Research, Faculty of Biotechnology and Animal Husbandry, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Klemensa Janickiego 29, 71-270 Szczecin, Poland.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Jul 4;15(13):1972. doi: 10.3390/ani15131972.
The review provides an overview of research concerning the assessment of cattle welfare in different housing systems. Hence, it restricts its scope to factors known to have a particular influence on the expression of their natural behaviours. It analyses the impact of housing systems on social and maternal bonds, as well as on the health and productivity of animals and on the feeding behaviour and physical activity of animals. It also pays attention to the occurrence of stereotypies, indicating the quality of the environment in which animals live, and attempts to determine the extent to which environmental enrichment improves welfare. It can be seen that welfare can vary significantly depending on the cattle rearing system. In intensive rearing environments, weaning calves and limited space often result in stress and behavioural disorders (e.g., cross-sucking). Extensive systems, offering access to pasture and longer cow-calf contact, usually provide higher levels of welfare. A freestall system allows greater freedom of movement and social contact but requires appropriate management to prevent aggression; in contrast, the tethering system limits movement, which increases the risk of stress and health problems. It has also been shown that enriching the living space of animals can significantly improve their welfare, regardless of the housing system. By balancing productivity with ensuring that the cattle are able to express their natural behaviours and maintain good health, it is possible to benefit both the animals and the agricultural sector as a whole, increasing its profitability and gaining consumer confidence.
本综述概述了有关不同饲养系统中奶牛福利评估的研究。因此，其范围限于已知对奶牛自然行为表达有特定影响的因素。它分析了饲养系统对社会和母犊关系的影响，以及对动物健康和生产力、动物采食行为和身体活动的影响。它还关注刻板行为的发生情况，刻板行为表明动物生活环境的质量，并试图确定环境丰富化在多大程度上能改善福利。可以看出，福利会因奶牛饲养系统的不同而有显著差异。在集约化饲养环境中，犊牛断奶和空间有限常常导致应激和行为紊乱（如交叉吮乳）。粗放式饲养系统能让奶牛有机会接触牧场且母牛与犊牛的接触时间更长，通常能提供更高水平的福利。散栏式饲养系统能让奶牛有更大的活动自由和社交接触，但需要适当管理以防止攻击行为；相比之下，拴系式饲养系统限制了奶牛的活动，这增加了应激和健康问题的风险。研究还表明，无论饲养系统如何，丰富动物的生活空间都能显著改善它们的福利。通过在保证生产力的同时确保奶牛能够表现其自然行为并保持良好健康状况之间取得平衡，既能使动物受益，也能使整个农业部门受益，提高其盈利能力并赢得消费者信任。
