Respecting EU cross-compliance requirements as an indicator of animal welfare on dairy farms in Poland

Abstract

Respecting EU cross-compliance requirements as an indicator of animal welfare on dairy farms in Poland. The aim of the study was to determine the level of animal welfare on dairy farms in Poland and to compare the measured parameters with the cross-compliance requirements. The study was conducted on 46 farms in the winter season. The microclimate measurements such as air moisture content, concentrations of selected air pollutants and the brightness of the room has been taken. A comparison of cattle housing systems on bedding and on the slatted floor has been examined. The barns were divided into four groups, depending on the size of the herd: 10–20 cows (12 barns), 21–40 cows (22 barns), 41–60 cows (7 barns), and 100–180 cows (5 barns), respectively. The largest group consisted of haerds housing 21–40 cows, which represented 48% of all herds involved in the study. Of all the barns that used slatted floors or bedding, we selected three largest herds each in order to compare hygienic parameters between both types of housing. The main findings were as follows: (1) the concentration of selected air pollutants in most of the barns did not deviate from the recommendations of the (Polish) National Research Institute of Animal Production; (2) the concentration of selected air pollutants was lower in barns where the cattle was kept on slatted floors; (3) the cattle housed on slatted floors also had better lighting conditions; (4) smaller herds of dairy cows were found to have relative air humidity conditions; (5) in 81% of farms, air humidity in the premises remained within the animal welfare standards.