Very little is known about the eliminative behaviour of dairy cows though housed cattle are traditionally thought to show little or no faeces-avoidance behaviour (Hafez and Schein, 1962). Management practices, such as cubicle housing, are designed to limit contact between cows and their faeces but are often restrictive in nature and can have an adverse effect upon other, unrelated behavioural patterns. For welfare reasons, housing systems for dairy cows should be designed with an aim to reduce the differences in behaviour between outdoor and indoor systems. This study aims to provide a clearer understanding of the eliminative behaviour of dairy cows in the two most commonly used housing systems in the UK, i.e., straw yards and cubicle yards and to investigate whether any difference in behaviour is imposed by housing regime.