It is widely assumed that the quality of human-animal interactions may have a strong impact on animals' living conditions and is fundamental to improving farm animal welfare. This work aims to evaluate the effectiveness of methods for assessing and monitoring the welfare of lactating goats. In particular, attention was paid to the methods regarding the assessment of the human-animal relationship. The experimental protocol included three tests and observations in the milking parlour, namely: avoidance distance in the pen, avoidance distance at the manger, approach test within 2 min and behavioural observations of stockmen and animals during milking. Fourteen dairy goat farms located in the province of Potenza (Southern Italy) with flocks ranging in size from 67 to 450 lactating goats were used. All farms raised the Rossa Mediterranean goat breed. The percentage of goats that permitted themselves to be touched at the manger (mean ± SD: 12.36 ± 9.50) was higher than that found in the pen (9.67 ± 11.86) and within 2 min inside the pen (8.19 ± 13.78). The avoidance distance at the manger (0.63 ± 0.28 m) was shorter than that recorded in the pen (1.19 ± 0.58 m). Avoidance distance at the manger was positively correlated with that in the pen (Spearman correlation test (rs) = 0.607; p < 0.01), as was the percentage of goats touched at the manger and in the pen (rs = 0.647; p < 0.01). Approximately 60% of the stockman interactions observed during milking were neutral, while positive and negative interactions had similar values to each other, approximately 20%. The number of neutral stockman interactions was positively correlated with the percentage of goats moving when approached at a distance >1 m (rs = 0.799; p < 0.001) and was negatively correlated with the animals touched at the manger (rs = -0.607; p < 0.05), in the pen (rs = -0.613; p < 0.05) and within 2 min (rs = -0.669; p < 0.01). As regards the degree of association between the behaviour of the milker and the animals during the milking routine, the percentage of neutral interactions tended to be positively correlated only with the number of kicks performed by the animals (rs = 0.476; p < 0.10). It is concluded that avoidance distance at the manger and in the pen, as for other farm animals, are valid tests to evaluate the human-animal relationship in goats. In addition, avoidance distance at the manger may reliably replace the test performed in the pen.
Keywords: avoidance distance; behaviour; dairy goats; human–animal relationship.