Assessment of animal welfare using behavioral indicators in dairy animals

During the recent times concerns regarding animal welfare have been coming into limelight. Gen-Z consumers are wanting more information on how their diet is coming from farm to table, besides this, there is also rising demand for sustainable animal production. Considering all these facts it is of utmost importance that production animals are raised with maximum possible standards so as so derive best possible animal production. This review article discusses some of the behavioural indicators in dairy animals which are indicative of animal welfare status on-farm. Earlier concepts focussed on understanding animal behaviour and reducing negative experiences for farm animals but recent advances also emphasize the importance of adding positive experiences to animals’ life. Future prospects in the field of animal welfare should be directed towards enhancing animals’ well-being by eventually outweighing positive experiences as compared to negative one.