Livestock dehorning

A dehorned dairy cow in New Zealand

Dehorning is the process of removing the fully grown horns of livestock. Cattle, sheep, and goats are sometimes dehorned[1][2] for economic and safety reasons. Disbudding is a different process with similar results; it cauterizes and thus destroys horn buds before they have grown into horns. Disbudding is commonly performed early in an animal's life, as are other procedures such as docking and castration.

Many breeds of cattle and sheep are naturally hornless polled and therefore do not need to be dehorned or disbudded. Most other livestock species cannot easily be bred to lack horns naturally. In one case, the poll gene in goats was linked to hermaphrodism in a single study several decades ago, although fertile polled goats have been bred.

Horns are removed because they can pose a risk to humans, other animals and to the bearers of the horns themselves (horns are sometimes caught in fences or prevent feeding). Dehorning is normally performed with local anesthesia and sedation by a veterinarian or a trained professional. Removal of larger horns is usually performed during spring and autumn to avoid fly season. In very large horns, "tipping" (removal of the tip of the horn) may be recommended to minimize bleeding. Dehorning is not routinely performed, since it is a difficult and painful process for the animal. Instead, most responsible breeders disbud (see below) their animals while young, when the process is quick and easy.[3] Dehorning is controversial, considered by some concerned with animal welfare to be cruelty because of the pain it can cause.

Rationale

Removal

Remaining horned

Procedure

A cow in the process of being dehorned and after being properly anesthetized and restrained

Dehorning can be performed on older animals and is normally performed with local anesthesia (cornual nerve block) by a veterinarian or a trained professional. Removal of larger horns is usually performed during spring and autumn to avoid fly season.[3] Sedation may be recommended, especially for larger animals that require increased restraint. Use of longer-term pain medicine, like NSAIDs, is being researched in the US to ensure food safety.

For mature cattle that were not dehorned when they were young, another common practice to just cut off the pointed end of the horn. This practice is called horn tipping; it is less stressful on the animal because there is no blood loss and the horn is cut off where there are no longer any nerve endings.[3] This practice does not eliminate the bruising damage done by the horns when cows fight, but it does eliminate the risk of puncture wounds and eye loss from pointed horns.

Disbudding minimizes discomfort and risk, and is performed when horns are small "buds" by one of several methods:

Restraint methods

The animal to be dehorned is usually restrained, either using a dehorning table or with chemical restraint —sedation. This ensures that the dehorning procedure can be done safely and properly. Young calves are run through a head gate (similar to a cattle crush) or haltered. Calves more than a few months old are held in a head gate and their head restrained with a dehorning table or chin bar. Smaller animals like sheep and goats may be restrained by hand or with use of halters.

Pain control

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) survey suggested that most cattle in the U.S. were disbudded or dehorned without the use of anesthesia at that time. The survey showed that more than nine out of ten dairy farms practiced dehorning, but fewer than 20 percent of cattle dairy operations used analgesics or anesthesia during the process. While animal rights groups, like the Humane Society of the United States, condemn the practice of dehorning, ending it would mean increased horn-related injuries to cattle and humans. Polled genetics, long a staple in beef cattle breeding are becoming more popular among dairy farmers, with more polled calves being born to dairy cattle every year. Genetic testing can now determine if cattle carry genes for growing horns.[7]

See also

References

  1. "RCVS List of Mutilatory Procedures". Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  2. "Pain in animals". Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "Dehorning Calves" (PDF). University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension. 2004. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  4. Hemsworth, P.H., Barnett, J.L., Beveridge, L. and Matthews, L.R. (1995). The welfare of extensively managed dairy cattle - a review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 42: 161-182.
  5. "Peta video on dairy dehorning". Peta. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  6. 1 2 Beattie, William A. (1990). Beef Cattle Breeding & Management. Popular Books, Frenchs Forest. ISBN 0-7301-0040-5.
  7. "USDA NAHMS Dairy 2007". USDA NAHMS Online. January 2010. (accessed 17 December 2013)

External links

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