A 100-Year Review: Animal welfare in the Journal of Dairy Science—The first 100 years

Abstract

This paper outlines the history and development of research in the area of animal welfare as reflected in the 100 yr that the Journal of Dairy Science has been published. The first paper using the term “animal welfare” was published in 1983; since then (to May 2017), 244 papers that reflect growing interest regarding how farm animals are cared for have been published. Much of the scientific work to date has focused on issues related to cow health, such as lameness, and methodologically many papers use behavioral measures. In addition to this science-based research, the journal has taken on the role of publishing work of social scientists that addresses the role of the human factors relating to animal welfare, including research on citizen, consumer, and farmer attitudes toward welfare issues. We call for further research focused on societal perspectives and for new biological research focused on developing issues, such as cow–calf separation and pasture access.