Dairy cow welfare is shaped by a complex of housing, health management, and human-animal relationship factors that affect millions of animals globally.
Dairy cow welfare is shaped by the intersection of genetics, management, housing, and veterinary care quality. High-producing dairy cows are physiologically stressed by milk yield demands that push biological limits. Common conditions - lameness, mastitis, and metabolic disease - represent chronic or acute pain experienced by hundreds of millions of animals. The welfare improvements available within current dairy systems are substantial: better cubicle design, earlier lameness detection, reduced culling pressure, and improved human-animal relationships can meaningfully reduce suffering at scale.