A recently published paper https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1125860 reports the status of animal welfare in 155 Norwegian loose-housed dairy herds as assessed using the Welfare Quality protocol. Encouraging findings include a low prevalence of cows with poor body condition and, based on avoidance testing, a good human-animal relationship. Concerns mostly relate to welfare measures such as integument alterations and difficulties in lying down thus indicating shortcomings regarding cubicle features. Interestingly, there was almost no regional variation in welfare status, emphasizing the importance of herd-specific interventions.