Milk production on Slovenian farms is an important economic activity that underwent essential changes after the introduction of the European Union standards. Sound state of health and welfare of dairy cows remain the essential conditions for the quality of milk and dairy products, as well as important public health aspects. This paper presents the currently applicable welfare standards for farm animals, the European priority activities in the field of welfare of farm animals, and the results of inquiry into the state of play in dairy cow housing systems in the narrower north-eastern territory of Slovenia. Ten free housing system dairy farms and ten tether system dairy farms were inspected, compared and assessed according to the Austrian method of the Animal Needs Index (ANI) for cattle. ANI is a relevant criterion for assessing the adequacy of husbandry systems, based on graded point system. The five areas of influence impacting animal welfare were assessed, including: affording movement (‘Locomotion’), affording social interaction (‘Social interaction’), type and condition of flooring (‘Flooring’), light and air conditions (‘Light and Air’), including ventilation and noise level, and quality of care for the animals (‘Stockmanship’). Adequacy of housing conditions was evaluated and compared between the free housing and tether systems for dairy cows. The paper further presents the state of health of animals examined and the scope of diseases detected, including technopathies and injuries, reasons for culling dairy cows and herd structure by the end of 2009, in either of the two husbandry systems. The advantages and disadvantages of the method used for assessing the adequacy of each husbandry system are presented as well.Proizvodnja mlijeka na privatnim farmama goveda u Sloveniji je značajna gospodarska djelatnost, koja je zbog uvođenja evropskih propisa doživjela značajne promijene. Zdravlje i dobrobit krava predstavljaju osnovne uvjete za kakvoću mlijeka i mliječnih proizvoda a uz to su i značajni činjenici zdravlja čovjeka. U radu su predstavljeni aktualni standardi o dobrobiti domaćih životinja, značajne europske aktivnosti na području dobrobiti i rezultati analiziranog stanja na užem području sjeverno-istočne Slovenije. Praćeno je i analizirano 10 privatnih farmi sa slobodnim uzgojem krava muzara i 10 s uzgojem na vezu. Ocijenjena je kvaliteta uzgoja prema austrijskoj metodi ANI, koja predstavlja mjerilo za ocjenu primjerenosti uzgoja na temelju sustava bodova. Ocijenjeno je svih pet utjecajnih područja značajnih za dobrobit životinja i to: sloboda kretanja, socijalni kontakti, stanje podova, osvjetljenje, ventilacija, buka te kvaliteta skrbi za životinje. Ocijenjena je adekvatnost uzgoja i napravljena usporedba između slobodnog i vezanog načina uzgoja. Analizirano je zdravstveno stanje pregledanih životinja i predstavljen opseg bolesti, tehnopatija i ozljeda, uzroci za izlučivanje krava muzara i sastav stada na istraživanim farmama krajem 2009 godine. Predstavljene su prednosti i nedostaci metode za ocjenjivanje kvalitete uzgoja životinja
