The Astrid Lindgren law can be torn up – the cow’s green pasture at stake

So this year the cow lip is a popular attraction.

Dairy farms that invite the public to watch as the outer cows take their first shots of joy out on the green pasture quickly get their events fully booked.

But it hasn’t always been that way.

The grazing requirement for dairy cows was introduced after a campaign led by Astrid Lindgren.

Her commitment played such a big role in the creation of the new animal welfare law in 1988 that the law has sometimes been called Lex Lindgren.

Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson presented the law as an 80th gift to the popular author.

Since then applies that all dairy cows in Sweden must have access to green pasture for at least six hours every day during the grazing season – between two and four months depending on where in Sweden the animals are.

But the dairy cows’ grazing rights may be about to be removed.

Last year, the government set up an investigation to strengthen the competitiveness of agriculture and protect animal welfare. Minister of Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren (KD) and Martin Kinnunen, SD’s spokesperson for environmental and agricultural issues, presented the investigation as “another part of the Tidöavlett that is being implemented†.

What is not generally known is that the inquiry’s directive specifically addresses dairy cattle’s opportunity to graze in the summer – and asks how animal welfare requirements of that kind affect the Swedish the competitiveness of agriculture.

DN has been in contact with several people with direct access to the investigation. Two independent sources confirm to DN that there is a well-advanced discussion about removing the grazing rights for dairy cows that roam freely indoors – cows in so-called loose farming.

In that case, it would be permitted to keep dairy cows indoors all year round.

The government’s special investigator Elisabeth Nilsson, former governor and CEO of the steel industry’s trade association, is leading the investigation, which will be reported on June 30. She does not want to comment if the grazing rights are discussed within the investigation.

“In my investigation, we work with many different issues and we discuss many conceivable proposals in a number of areas, but nothing has been decided,†she writes in an email to DN.

Peter Kullgren’s party, the Christian Democrats, has on several occasions motioned in the Riksdag to remove the grazing requirement from the Animal Welfare Act.

Researchers in animal behavior and welfare are very critical of abolishing grazing rights.

– Cows are animals that are adapted to grazing. That’s their entire basic biological function, and that can’t be met if you keep them indoors, even if they are free-living, says Per Jensen, professor of ethology at Linköping University.

There is a lot of research on how the health and well-being of cattle is affected by the possibility of getting out to pasture.

– The scientific basis is clear and unambiguous. Experimental studies support that the cows feel better when they have the opportunity to get outside. You see an improvement in the state of health in a number of different ways, including hoof health, bone health and various inflammations, says Per Jensen.

Also Bo Algersprofessor emeritus in animal hygiene at the Swedish University of Agriculture (SLU), believes that grazing is one of the most important behaviors that a cow has.

– If a cow is not allowed to graze, it feels bad. We know from research that cows that graze outside are healthier than animals that graze inside. That is one of the reasons why our animal welfare law states that animals must be kept so that they can behave naturally, he says.

In a Canadian study, crosses’ motivation to get out to pasture was tested. The cows first had access to fresh feed on the other side of a weighted door, where the weights gradually increased. After that, they were given access to pasture behind the same type of door, where the researchers measured how heavy the cows were prepared to lift to get out onto the pasture.

The researchers then noted that the cows fought just as hard to get out to pasture as they did to get food.

– The study shows that their motivation to come out and graze is as strong as their motivation to get food. The pasture contains so much more than just grass, Per Jensen.

– It’s not just about the bait itself, but also about so much else that we often don’t think about. The smells, the sounds, the feeling of fresh air, everything else that the cows miss out on when we enclose them in our houses, says Bo Algers.

For conventionally raised pigs and chickens in Sweden today there is no requirement to stay outside.

Why must cows go outside when there are no corresponding requirements for pigs and chickens?

– From an animal welfare perspective, even chickens and pigs should be allowed to go outside. But the cow is a ruminant and in its instinctive, natural behavior has an urge to wander, graze and ruminate. This is how cows have survived through the millennia before they were taken care of by humans, says Per Jensen.

Sweden is the only country in the world where there is a law that all cattle over 6 months, except bulls, must be given the opportunity to graze outdoors on ¥ the summer.

If other countries can let the cows stay inside all year round, why can’t Sweden do it?

– If we look at Europe during the summer half, we see cows grazing everywhere, in Denmark, Germany, Holland and France. It is because grazing provides such great health benefits for the animals. Then there is a lot that is allowed in other countries that we don’t like. The fact that Sweden has grazing requirements is one reason why Swedish consumers choose Swedish dairy products, says Per Jensen.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) describes a possible abolition of grazing rights as a major setback for both animals and nature.

– Above all, we fear that a abolished grazing right will accelerate the brutal structural transformation towards fewer and larger dairy companies, because it is the really large farms that have rt to arrange good pastures for the cows, says Jenny Jewert, agricultural expert at WWF.

In 1970, there were 96,000 dairy farms in Sweden. Today, the number is down to 2,675 – a decrease of 96 percent in just over 50 years.

– The small and medium-sized dairy farms in the forest and middle countryside are hugely important for biological diversity. Although the dairy cows mostly graze on pasture, young animals, steers and heifers contribute to grazing on natural pastures, says Jenny Jewert.

The Confederation of Farmers (LRF) has pushed for the grazing requirement for cows to be removed in the animal welfare regulation. Today, LRF is involved in and finances an ongoing study on seven farms in Sweden where cows are kept indoors all year round. They also sit on the investigation’s expert council.

Peter Kofoed, director of LRF Mjölk, comments on DN’s information about the grazing rights in an email:

“Our ambition is to continue to focus on good animal welfare and at the same time strengthen the conditions for long-term sustainable milk production. That’s why we want the current grazing law to be reviewed for dairy cows that live in free-range farming and are given good animal welfare every day of the year.â€

Read more:

Grazing animals are therefore good for biological diversity

Green pasture without fences – new technology replaces the shepherd

Green light for natural pastured meat in WWF’s meat guide