Tail docking and dehorning in the spotlight

The saying no pain, no gain is definitely not applicable to the milk industry as consumers believe animals are not subjected to minimum pain and live in reasonable natural conditions. “From a consumer perspective, good welfare means the animal is feeling good and is free from fear and pain,” explains Nina von Keyserlingk the University of British Columbia’s Animal Welfare Program specialist. “Consumers also believe good welfare means the animal is living a reasonably natural life,” she told visitors to the 12th biannual Western Dairy Management Conference in Reno, Nevada.

According to her tail docking just may be the most significant hot-button welfare issue facing the dairy industry in certain countries. A second clear issue is pain and how to prevent pain associated with routine procedures such as dehorning. “In a poll of US citizens, over 90% said we should provide pain control for dehorning,” she says. “Collectively, our work on dehorning confirms that calves do better with pain mitigation.” The new frontier regarding dairy animal welfare is whether a calf should be separated from its dam at birth. So far, research is not conclusive in this area. To read more, click HERE.