Positive welfare in dairy cows: role of the vet

Background: The livestock industry should ensure positive welfare for animals within its care, over and above the five freedoms. It is important that the general public approves of conditions that livestock inhabit for them to continue to purchase these products and feel positive in doing so. As custodians of animal health and welfare, veterinary clinicians must be equipped to advocate for improvements to welfare, as well as conventional herd health and individual case approaches. The environment an animal inhabits will impact its heath and production, but improvements to living conditions will also support positive welfare. Assessment of the environment is an essential step to identify areas to improve in the system; this will allow for subsequent advances in overall living conditions.Aim of the article: This article provides an overview of positive welfare and assessment in dairy cows and guides production animal vets on how to undertake evaluations on farm. It also informs practitioners on developments in the research of positive welfare in dairy cows and discusses how positive welfare opportunities can be provided on farms.