Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

There are three primary behaviours that cattle spend most of their time with; ruminating, resting and
grazing. According to the Swedish animal welfare legislation, animals must be kept and cared for
in a good environment. The legislation requires cattle to go on pasture, except calves and bulls. The
Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF) has decided to lobby for a change in the grazing legislation.
LRF argues that the legislation prevents dairy farmers from developing and being financially
competitive internationally. The purpose of this study was to examine consumers' attitudes to an
abolished grazing requirement, explain the benefits and disadvantages with pasture for dairy cows
and investigate what possible consequences an abolished grazing requirement may mean. To gather
information a literature review and a survey study was carried out.

The results indicated that consumers thought that pasture was important for the cows` welfare and
they wanted to keep the grazing legislation. Furthermore, consumers did not want cows to spend
their whole lives indoors and many were considering reducing their consumption of dairy products
if that would happen. Pasture leads to several welfare benefits such as better hoof and leg health,
less mastitis and lower mortality. Access to pasture also facilitates and encourages natural
behaviours. Cows have shown a preference for pasture. Challenges that can arise during pasture are
that the ability to control the feed intake and nutrient content of the pasture can be limited. Extreme
weather conditions on pasture can also have negative impacts on the cow’s welfare.

In Europe there is a trend towards less milk cows on pasture. If the grazing requirement disappear,
there is a risk that the structural development of milk production will progress, in a direction that
might make it more difficult for farmers to keep cows on pasture. Removing access to pasture can
lead to a reduced consumption of milk products or a reduced positive view of the milk production,
but that requires a deeper investigation.