Long-term stability of Avoidance Distance tests for on-farm assessment of dairy cow relationship to humans in alpine traditional husbandry systems

The present study investigates the long-term stability of two behaviour tests used to evaluate the human-animal relationship as well as gather information to refine on-farm welfare assessment protocols in alpine husbandry systems. Two tests, Avoidance Distance (AD) and Avoidance Distance at the Feeding rack (ADF) were performed on 50 lactating cows, bred in a loose housing system, following a protocol validated for dairy cows in the Welfare Quality^® project. AD was performed on each animal at three different times: at the end of the indoor housing period just before the grazing period (AD_bg); during the outdoor summer grazing period in mountain ranges (AD_dg); and at the beginning of the indoor housing period, just after the grazing period (AD_ag). ADF was performed on the same cows only during the housing period, at the bottom of the valley, before (ADF_bg) and after (ADF_ag) the grazing period. Values of AD_ag (113.93 ± 21.21 cm) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those observed in AD_bg (71.07 ± 14.63 cm) and in AD_dg (77.68 ± 18.11 cm). No statistical significance was pointed out between AD_bg and AD_dg. A similar trend was recorded also for ADF, which was significantly higher after the grazing period (ADF_bg vs ADF_ag: 25.00 ± 6.80 vs 47.50 ± 8.72 cm; P < 0.05). The summer grazing period seems to affect the reaction of cows towards humans, and AD and ADF are not consistent throughout the year. Certification of on-farm welfare in alpine husbandry systems, therefore requires performing these tests at the end of the indoor period, to gain better insight of the human-animal relationship for the environment in which cows live most of the year.