This paper reviews animal-based welfare indicators to develop a valid, reliable, and feasible on-farm welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats. The indicators were considered in the light of the 4 accepted principles (good feeding, good housing, good health, appropriate behavior) subdivided into 12 criteria developed by the European Welfare Quality program. We will only examine the practical indicators to be used on-farm, excluding those requiring the use of specific instruments or laboratory analysis and those that are recorded at the slaughterhouse. Body condition score, hair coat condition, and queuing at the feed barrier or at the drinker seem the most promising indicators for the assessment of the "good feeding" principle. As to "good housing," some indicators were considered promising for assessing "comfort around resting" (e.g., resting in contact with a wall) or "thermal comfort" (e.g., panting score for the detection of heat stress and shivering score for the detection of cold stress). Several indicators related to "good health," such as lameness, claw overgrowth, presence of external abscesses, and hair coat condition, were identified. As to the "appropriate behavior" principle, different criteria have been identified: agonistic behavior is largely used as the "expression of social behavior" criterion, but it is often not feasible for on-farm assessment. Latency to first contact and the avoidance distance test can be used as criteria for assessing the quality of the human-animal relationship. Qualitative behavior assessment seems to be a promising indicator for addressing the "positive emotional state" criterion. Promising indicators were identified for most of the considered criteria; however, no valid indicator has been identified for "expression of other behaviors." Interobserver reliability has rarely been assessed and warrants further attention; in contrast, short-term intraobserver reliability is frequently assessed and some studies consider mid- and long-term reliability. The feasibility of most of the reviewed indicators in commercial farms still needs to be carefully evaluated, as several studies were performed under experimental conditions. Our review highlights some aspects of goat welfare that have been widely studied, but some indicators need to be investigated further and drafted before being included in a valid, reliable, and feasible welfare assessment protocol. The indicators selected and examined may be an invaluable starting point for the development of an on-farm welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats.

The EU-funded Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) research project (2011-2015) aimed to improve animal welfare through the development of practical on-farm animal welfare assessment protocols. The present study describes the application of the AWIN approach to the development of a welfare assessment protocol for horses (Equus caballus). Its development required the following steps: (i) selection of potential welfare indicators; (ii) bridging gaps in knowledge; (iii) consulting stakeholders; and (iv) testing a prototype protocol on-farm. Compared to existing welfare assessment protocols for other species, the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses introduces a number of innovative aspects, such as implementation of a two-level strategy focused on improving on-farm feasibility and the use of electronic tools to achieve standardised data collection and so promote rapid outcomes. Further refinement to the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses is needed in order to firstly gather data from a larger reference population and, secondly, enhance the welfare assessment protocol with reference to different horse housing and husbandry conditions.

The AWIN project aimed at developing an on-farm welfare assessment protocol for adult dairy goats. A prototype protocol was tested in 30 intensive dairy goat farms to evaluate its feasibility in farms of different size. Time for applying the prototype was recorded and any other constraint was taken into account. Moreover, data collected during the prototype testing provided information on the prevalence of welfare issues in intensive dairy goat farms in Northern Italy. The prototype included 25 animal-based indicators (14 group- and 11 individual-level indicators). The prototype showed a good on-farm feasibility and it was highly accepted among stakeholders, as its application did not interfere with the daily routine. Approximately 2 h were required for the application of the prototype. When feeding racks were available, using them for locking the animals during the individual assessment resulted advantageous to speed the data collection and to reduce handling stress to the goats and disturbance to the farmers. Farm size and different management systems influenced the prevalence of some indicators, with small farms in general better welfare conditions compared to larger farms. The results of the present study represent an important starting point to set up an epidemiological database that may lead to improve the welfare status of goats.

Within the European AWIN project, a protocol for assessing dairy goats’ welfareon the farm was developed. Starting from a literature review, a prototype includinganimal-based indicators covering four welfare principles and 12 welfare criteria was set up.The prototype was tested in 60 farms for validity, reliability, and feasibility. After testing theprototype, a two-level assessment protocol was proposed in order to increase acceptabilityamong stakeholders. The first level offers a more general overview of the welfare status,based on group assessment of a few indicators (e.g., hair coat condition, latency to thefirst contact test, severe lameness, Qualitative Behavior Assessment), with no or minimalhandling of goats and short assessment time required. The second level starts if welfareAnimals 2015, 5 935problems are encountered in the first level and adds a comprehensive and detailed individualevaluation (e.g., Body Condition Score, udder asymmetry, overgrown claws), supported byan effective sampling strategy. The assessment can be carried out using the AWIN Goatapp. The app results in a clear visual output, which provides positive feedback on welfareconditions in comparison with a benchmark of a reference population. The protocol maybe a valuable tool for both veterinarians and technicians and a self-assessment instrumentfor farmers.