Welfare Challenges of Dairy Cows in India Identified Through On-Farm Observations.

Siobhan Mullan,Deepa Ananth,Elizabeth Rowe,John Tarlton,Michael R F Lee,Surej J Bunglavan,David C Barrett

doi:10.3390/ani10040586

Abstract

India has the largest population of dairy cattle in the world at over 48 million animals, yet there has been little formal assessment of their welfare reported. Through observations of dairy cows on 38 farms in Kerala, India, we aimed to investigate the welfare of these animals and the practicality of animal-based assessments within common farming systems. Substantial welfare challenges were identified. All cows were close-tied (less than 1 m length) via a halter that pierced the nasal septum when housed, which was for the entire day (50% of farms) or part thereof. When outside access was available, it was also usually restricted by close-tying, longline tether, or hobbling. Ad libitum water was only available on 22% of farms and food access was also restricted (mean of 4.3 h/day). Future work should focus on encouraging dairy farmers in India to improve the welfare of their dairy cattle by: ceasing to tie and tether cattle (or at least providing tied and tethered cattle with exercise opportunities); providing unlimited access to drinking water and a readier supply of food (especially quality green forage/fodder); cleaning housing more frequently; providing strategies to prevent heat stress; breeding cattle suited to environmental conditions and with increased resistance to heat stress; and carrying out welfare assessments more regularly using a validated protocol and rectifying the causes of poor welfare. Such changes could substantially improve the welfare of tens of millions of cattle.

Highlights

India is the world’s largest milk-producing country, with a 20% share in global production [1].Milk production in India differs from most countries in that more than half of the milk produced is from buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), followed by indigenous cows (Bos indicus) and crossbred cows [2].Since the 1960s, indigenous cows have been cross-bred with European breeds (Bos taurus) with higher productivity, such as the Holstein, Friesian, Jersey, Brown Swiss and Red Dane, to increase milk production [3]
Much of the Indian population follow Hinduism, a religion that holds cattle sacred; most states do not permit the slaughter of dairy cattle for meat and non-productive animals may be housed in shelters known as gaushalas until they die of natural causes [6]
The observed cattle on all farms were visually B. taurus and mostly a mixture of breeds derived from historically imported stocks of Holstein, Jersey and Brown Swiss cattle, with some crossbreeding with indigenous breeds of B. indicus, which was evident on occasions through drooping ears or a neck hump

Summary

Introduction

India is the world’s largest milk-producing country, with a 20% share in global production [1].Milk production in India differs from most countries in that more than half of the milk produced is from buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), followed by indigenous cows (Bos indicus) and crossbred cows [2].Since the 1960s, indigenous cows have been cross-bred with European breeds (Bos taurus) with higher productivity, such as the Holstein, Friesian, Jersey, Brown Swiss and Red Dane, to increase milk production [3]. India is the world’s largest milk-producing country, with a 20% share in global production [1]. Milk production in India differs from most countries in that more than half of the milk produced is from buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), followed by indigenous cows (Bos indicus) and crossbred cows [2]. Despite less than half of India’s milk being produced from cows, the country has the largest dairy cow population in the world: in 2016, this was 48,610,350 dairy cows—17.8% of the world’s total population [4]. Much of the Indian population follow Hinduism, a religion that holds cattle sacred; most states do not permit the slaughter of dairy cattle for meat and non-productive animals may be housed in shelters known as gaushalas until they die of natural causes [6]. Some states permit only the slaughter of bullocks and/or water buffalo, and a few permit the slaughter of all bovines, including

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