Assessment of Animal Welfare in Confined and Grazing Dairy Systems Using the Welfare Quality® Protocol

This study compared animal welfare outcomes in grazing and confined dairy systems. Eighteen farms (nine grazing and nine confined) were evaluated using 30 animal- and resource-based measures aggregated into 12 criteria and four welfare principles (0-100 scale): Good Feeding, Good Housing, Good Health, and Appropriate Behavior. No significant differences were detected for Good Feeding (75 vs. 76) or Good Health (32 vs. 34). Appropriate Behavior scores were lower in confined systems (16) than in grazing systems (34). For Good Housing, confidence intervals suggested higher scores in grazing systems (71) than in confined systems (57), although the lack of variability among grazing farms limited statistical interpretation. Despite similar Good Health scores, some individual indicators showed contrasting patterns. The proportion of cows with injuries or nasal discharge was higher in grazing systems, whereas the proportion with somatic cell counts ≥ 400,000 cells/mL was lower in confined herds. In contrast, grazing systems showed a higher proportion of non-lame cows and lower mortality (5% vs. 8%). Overall, both systems showed welfare strengths and weaknesses, although grazing systems showed advantages in behavior, locomotion, and survival.