Implementation and Improvement of Animal-Based Measures for Environmental Management Assessment Items in Animal Welfare Certification System

South Korea has implemented an animal welfare certification system for seven livestock species since 2012. However, the system faces limitations such as ambiguous assessment criteria, reliance on subjective judgment, and insufficient use of animal-based measures. Although some studies have investigated animal-based measures for farm animals raised in South Korea, their integration into the certification standards remains limited - especially in environmental management, where housing conditions play a critical role in determining welfare outcomes. This study discusses the limitations of environmental management assessment criteria in the animal welfare certification system for cattle and proposes directions for applying animal-based measures. Cattle are vulnerable to glare, contrast and ununiform lighting,  yet current certification standards specify only illuminance levels focused on worker comfort. Under such conditions, showed behavioral changes such as stopping, changing stride, increasing moving speed, avoiding obstacles, and hesitation in walking. Current air quality assessments are limited in scope and primarily rely on subjective sensory evaluations of the evaluator. Exposure to airborne pollutants can cause tearing, nasal discharge, coughing, and corneal ulcers in cattle, and further research is warranted to clarify the relationship between airborne pollutants and associated clinical symptoms in cattle. Temperature assessment relies on facility status and daily records, but the effect of the facility and the perceived temperature can differ even in the same environment due to various factors. Panting and shivering scores have been used in several studies as indicators of cattle's physical responses to thermal stress, indicating a need for further validation for cattle breeds raised domestically. Cattle are also vulnerable to high-frequency, biological, intermittent, and sudden noises from inside and outside the farm; however, noise standards are not clearly defined in current certification criteria, leading to subjective assessments. Such noise exposure can provoke increased heart rate, agitation, freezing, milling, and refusal to walk, which can be identified through the pryer reflex. In this way, physical responses of cattle under different environmental management levels can be interpreted as indicators of discomfort with the housing environment. Applying animal-based measures to assess welfare levels for environmental management may increase the effectiveness of assessments through more accurate and objective criteria.