Abstract:

The “Animal Welfare” eco-scheme, implemented in Poland under the National Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–2027, covers dairy cows under a points-based system comprising increased space allowance, straw bedding, grazing, access to an outdoor exercise area, and delayed dam–calf separation. This article critically analyses these practices in terms of their simultaneous effects on animal welfare and gaseous emissions, with particular emphasis on enteric methane, ammonia and pasture-derived nitrous oxide. A review of peer-reviewed literature indexed in Scopus, PubMed and ScienceDirect indicates that, unlike in pig and poultry production, the relationship between grazing-based welfare practices and gaseous emissions in dairy production cannot be characterised as a simple trade-off: enteric methane emissions are driven primarily by diet rather than by housing system, while pasture access redistributes nitrogen losses from concentrated ammonia sources in housing towards diffuse nitrous oxide emissions associated with urine patches. Depending on management and system boundaries, soil carbon sequestration in grassland may offset part of the resulting GHG footprint. The review further indicates that current evidence does not clearly support treating separation of calves from their dams no earlier than day 5 of life as a stand-alone welfare measure. The article therefore argues that the eco-scheme after 2027 should retain its flexible points-based structure for dairy cattle while reconsidering the current dam–calf separation practice in light of the available evidence.