According a 2010 ABC News report, more than nine out of ten dairy farms practice dehorning. Actor Casey Affleck spoke out against the practice in a new video for PETA.
Oscar nominee Casey Affleck is helping PETA spread the word about the dehorning of cows on dairy farms -- a widespread practice that Affleck calls "inhumane."
In this graphic video, entitled "Dehorning: Dairy's Dark Secret," Affleck explains how the practice is carried out. Dehorning involves the cutting, burning or chemical removal of the horns of cows and other animals.
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"Cows and calves struggle desperately during dehorning," Affleck says in the video, which shows the animals “thrashing, tossing their heads, rearing up, switching their tails, bellowing, and collapsing to the ground" as farm workers are seen burning off or gouging out their sensitive horn tissue.
"All these procedures are routinely performed without giving the animals any painkillers whatsoever," the actor adds.
Lyndon Odell, CEO of Willet Dairy, one of New York state's largest dairies, said dehorning is a "standard practice in agriculture" and done to protect both the animals and dairy employees. "Part of the issue with this is cow injury," said Odell, "and also safety for the employees. If you have an animal running around with a sharp horn, they can gore other animals that are in the same group with them or they can injure an employee that's working with the animals."
According to the Boston Globe, Affleck -- who voiced a character in the animated movie “ParaNorman," which was released last month -- will be at his alma mater Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in Cambridge, Mass., on Tuesday to talk about the campaign.
In line with what he says in the film about "avoiding cow's milk, cheese, and other dairy products," free boxes of soy milk will be distributed to attendees.
"Whereas the consumption of dairy products is linked to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and cancer, fortified plant milks have none of the health risks associated with cow's milk and are cruelty-free," a PETA representative told The Huffington Post in an email.
Should the practice of dehorning be promoted, regulated or stopped entirely? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
WARNING: This video contains graphic content that may be disturbing to some viewers.
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As an involved agriculture and business student who has much experience on the farm in day to day tasks, I believe that dehorning is an essential act to keep cattle from getting caught loading and unloading off of trailers, hurting a farmer who has to enter their paddock to feed and water them, and it also decreases individual dominance so they don’t fight themselves.The most popular type of dehorning is using a hot iron dehorner to burn the tissue so it doesn’t produce any horns in the future. This is used by heat such as shown in the video above after an injection of a nerve block such as lidocaine for numbing. The only difference is that in the video, it is clear that the farmer is not using any source of anesthetic which is very uncommon now a days. Also, farmers often have vets do this so they can administer the drugs, and also prescribe an NSAID such as Ketoprofen for any post-pain.
AgStudent6: As an involved agriculture and business student who has much
This would be an equivalent of us taking ibuprofen after getting a tooth pulled. The second type of dehorning that is commonly done is Caustic paste that is applied to the area of a young calf’s head to burn the tissue off. Farmers are very careful to make sure that it doesn’t get in the eyes or mouth, and the monitor the health of the calf for a while afterwards. The last main type of dehorning is using a sccop/gauge to remove the horn that has already started growing. Because it is much easier to get rid of the horn producing tissue than it is a horn that has already attached to the front of the skull, a small percentage of farmers are required to do this method. The only reason why this seems like it’s so popular is because associations such as PETA get footage of one or two farmers doing this out of the majority of us, and publicize that it’s how its always done in the dairy or beef industry.
AgStudent6: This would be an equivalent of us taking ibuprofen after
which is not common at all, because most farmers are much more careful. You can't always assume that whatever is shown in the media applies to every situation !!! Geneticists are working on the polled gene to allow bulls to pass on the trait of being born with no horns. I believe that is where the industry is headed, but for the mean time, please research your facts before you chime in with your opinion that you know nothing about. I don't mind listening to other view points, but please let your argument be educated and have facts to back it up, not be based completely on emotion. Farms are becoming more transparent for that reason exactly. So the public can see what we are doing ! Visit a local farm near you and ask questions. Im sure the farmer won't mind at all !
AgStudent6: which is not common at all, because most farmers are
As an agriculture student and farm hand who has experienced these daily farm tasks fist hand, I can assure you that dehorning is not the intentionally cruel practice that PETA makes it out to be. I suppose PETA members also don't realize that farmers do not do this for cosmetical reasons, but for the long term safety of both the farmer AND the animal. When you dehorn calves, you are allowing yourself to make sure that cattle can enter and exit safely off trailers without getting their horns caught, farmers and ranchers are allowed to safely enter the pen to feed and water without being attacked, and most importantly, cattle are less agressive towards each other because lack of horns has been shown to reduce individual dominance. In my experience and research, there are three main methods of dehorning. Hot iron dehorning , which is used with a hot iron dehorner as shown above in the short clip by PETA, uses heat to destroy the cell producing tissue before the horn starts growing and attaches to the front of the skull. What PETA DIDN'T show you was that most farmers are now using nerve blockers such as lidocaine to keep calves from feeling the tissue being burnt off. Afterwards, they are also giving them NSAIDS such as Ketoprofen to reduce post surgery pain. This would be an equivalent to us using ibuprofen after getting a tooth pulled. It was clear in the video the calf was under no anesthetic,
AgStudent6: As an agriculture student and farm hand who has experienced
I may be the only commentator here that has actually owned a ranch (about 40 miles N. of Fort Worth, TX) and I can tell you with certainty that removing a young bull's testicles ain't something that the animal is too happy about either.
Charlie_Sitzes: I may be the only commentator here that has actually
Peta, an organization resposible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of animals each year, has shown once again that the american public is easilly deluded.
This video and the many like it show the worst conditions for these animals to be kept in they can find to show off with no regard for those who have more humane methods or even national standards.
While dehorning is unregulated many farms do use local and lasting painkillers while dehorning thier animals and do it only at a very young age. The dehorning process used on these farms clearly has little effect on those animals as they are eating, playing, comfortable around humans and generally behaving normally within a matter of days or even hours even when areas around the removed horns are touched.
Compare this to the injuries, deaths and serious problems that can be caused by having full-sized horns on the cows. The amount of pain another cow will be in from being gored will far exceed the short moments it takes to debud a young cow.
If you have made the descision to continue eating beef and dairy, just buy sensibly. Buy from a local farmer who uses humane practices instead of the huge box stores and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time.
Don't villify an entire industry when there are many people in it who treat thier animals well.
nyowpotopop: Peta, an organization resposible for the deaths of hundreds of
"and yet YOU don't seem to care about the animals that get injured/killed by horns. "Quoted from Sablemouse.
Sablemouse, you get sillier by the comment. That you suggest that I don't care if people or other animals get injured by horned cattle is laughable. You make silly statements based on nothing except your own bias and bad mood. If I saw even you being attacked by a cow or a dog or whatever, I would do my level best to help you, unlike someone else here who has already stated that she'd happily cheer on anything that attacked me. (an example of a polite omnivore???)
I've also stated here, that while I don't agree with the whole animals for food proposition, at the same time, if these animals were being given painkillers during the procedure, I wouldn't have nearly the problem with the whole situation and this specific video wouldn't even have been made for that matter. But it is the lack of care by farmers that has brought about one more 'charge' of cruelty against them.
DebbyM: "and yet YOU don't seem to care about the animals
Casey Affleck knows nothing about cattle so he shouldn't shoot off his mouth. Cows struggle whenever they are restrained for any reason. And cows with horns frequently injure their pasture/barn mates. PeTA is just trying another tact to end animal agriculture. They would be ridiculous if they were not so despicable.
JeanRR: Casey Affleck knows nothing about cattle so he shouldn't shoot
It doesn't take a genius to see the blood and know that nerves are being severed. It also doesn't take a 'cattleman' to know those things are painful. It does take a person of great compassion to care. It also takes people standing up and speaking out to cause egregious activities to stop. That is what he and others are doing.
Status quo is fine as long as nobody gets hurt. In this case someone is getting hurt and it needs to change.
DebbyM: It doesn't take a genius to see the blood and
Ah yes. Another to shut down dairy farms. I have a farmer friend in McHenry Cty. Illinois. He has a 320 acre dairy farm. It has been ib his family for 120 years, he is the 4th gereration. So the EPA sent him a letter saying he would have to install drain tiles to change the folw of rain water. So he called a contractor and got a estimate of $300,000.00 He does'nt have that kind of money and he does'nt have enough profit to pay for a loan, being a good American who likes to pay his debts.
So he met with the EPA to see if they could wotk something out. They refused. He htan asked them how they got on his property with out permission. They said they did'nt.
Someone he knows in government told him th EPA had a drone flying over the county checking farms.
So to end this, he told the EPA he would just shut down the dairy operation.
So lets thank the Gestopo.
freddyb: Ah yes. Another to shut down dairy farms. I have
Let me get this straight. You are outraged that the EPA was trying to protect ground water, i.e. rivers, streams, drinking water by calling for improvement in the way the urine and manure laden rainfall was being managed on that guys farm?
That must mean that you think it's ok for all that filth to pollute the environment and you don't mind having to buy clean drinking water or have the public pay for improved water treatment plants that would be required to manage farm waste all over the country. Hmmm, either you've got such deep pockets that none of that bothers you, or you are letting outrage for your friend get in the way of common sense.
If a factory has antiquated smoke stacks in your community and the air is filthy with toxic pollutants, would you expect the government to pay for the required improvements (with your tax dollars) or would you expect the company who is making profit off that factory to pony up to bring their system up to current standards? That farmer is a business and as a business he has expenses(this is one of them) and is required to operate his business according to current science and technology. And current science says the pollutants from farms are toxifying rivers and drinking water and ultimately the oceans of the world.
You should actually be pleased that the EPA was for a change, protecting the environment and ultimately your childrens future world.
DebbyM: Let me get this straight. You are outraged that the
Thank you, Debby. The "real" costs are rarely incorporated by producers and industry. They prefer to externalize the costs and damages to all of us downstream.
World_of_Sad_Ghosts: Thank you, Debby. The "real" costs are rarely incorporated by
i don't think he was born with a silver spoon and i'm not opposed to actors taking up causes.
to think that they're always as well informed as they could be would be stupid of course.
peta does seem to have a way of reeling people in as well.
sabelmouse: i don't think he was born with a silver spoon
Well, I do know something about dairy farming, it was in my family (parents' generation). And I know intimately how inhumane the bulk of the industry is, not even taking into account the baseline inherent cruelty of what's done to cows and calves by virtue of perpetual pregnancy and and selling off of calves. But, one doesn't need a background in farming to understand cruelty at face value. And that's precisely what this is.
World_of_Sad_Ghosts: Well, I do know something about dairy farming, it was
There is an effort, in the dairy cow breeding industry- especially among Holstein dairy breeders, to develop homozygous pulled bulls. A pulled bull has a 50 percent chance of being born hornless when the parent hefer and bull carry the pulled bull gene. A homozygous pulled bull will produce 100 percent hornless bulls. There is an effort in the industry to develop homozygous pulled bulls to eliminate the need for dehorning.
The article is incorrect when it says that cows suffer from dehorning. Cows are females that have given birth to a calf. A hefer is a female that has never given birth to a calf. Hefers and cows do not grow horns. Only bull calves grow horns. You would think that PETA would at least get their terminology correct.
alvdh1: There is an effort, in the dairy cow breeding industry-
First, it's "polled", not "pulled". Second, heifers certainly do grow horns if they aren't naturally polled. So do the females of other horned species. Perhaps you're confusing horns with antlers. Among most cervidae, only the males grow antlers.
FaunaAndFlora: First, it's "polled", not "pulled". Second, heifers certainly do grow
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Posted: 09/18/2012 3:39 pm Updated: 09/18/2012 4:43 pm