Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:19:57.513Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Stakeholder views on treating pain due to dehorning dairy calves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

JA Robbins ,
DM Weary ,
CA Schuppli  and
MAG von Keyserlingk
JA Robbins
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
DM Weary
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
CA Schuppli
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
MAG von Keyserlingk*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

A common and painful management practice undertaken on most dairy farms is dehorning young calves (also called ‘disbudding’ when done on calves less than about two months of age). Despite much evidence the practice is painful, and effective means available to mitigate this pain, it is frequently performed without pain relief. The overall aim of this study was to describe different stakeholder views on the use of pain mitigation for disbudding and dehorning. Using an interactive, online platform, we asked participants whether or not they believed that calves should be disbudded and dehorned with pain relief and to provide reasons to support their choice. Participant composition was as follows: dairy producer or other farm worker (10%); veterinarian or other professional working with the dairy industry (7%); student, teacher or researcher (16%); animal advocate (9%); and no involvement with the dairy industry (57%). Of 354 participants, 90% thought pain relief should be provided when disbudding and dehorning. This support was consistent across all demographic categories suggesting the industry practice of disbudding and dehorning without pain control is not consistent with normative beliefs. The most common themes in participants’ comments were: pain intensity and duration, concerns about drug use, cost, ease and practicality and availability of alternatives. Some of the participants’ reasoning corresponded well with existing scientific evidence, but other reasons illustrated important misconceptions, indicating an urgent need for educational efforts targeted at dairy producers and dairy industry professionals advising these producers.

Keywords

animal welfareattitudescalvesdehorningdisbuddingpain
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , November 2015 , pp. 399 - 406
Copyright
© 2015 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

ALCASDE 2009 Report on dehorning practices across EU member states. http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/farm/docs/calves_ alcasde_D-2-1-1.pdfGoogle Scholar
Anand, KJ and Hickey, PR 1987 Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus. New England Journal of Medicine 317:1321–1329. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJM198711193172105CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anil, SS, Anil, L and Deen, J 2002 Challenges of pain assessment in domestic animals. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 220: 313–319. http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.2002.220.313CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
AVMA 2012 Welfare implications of dehorning and disbudding of cattle. https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/LiteratureReviews/Documents/dehorning_cattle_bgnd.pdfGoogle Scholar
Boogaard, BK, Oosting, SJ and Bock, BB 2008 Defining sus-tainability as a socio-cultural concept: Citizen panels visiting dairy farms in the Netherlands. Livestock Science 117: 24–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2007.11.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bovenkerk, B, Brom, FWA and Van den Bergh, BJ 2002 Brave new birds: The use of ‘Animal Integrity’ in animal ethics. Hastings Center Report 32: 16–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3528292CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
CFR 2012 Synthetic substances allowed for use in organic livestock production. http://bit.ly/livestock-syntheticsGoogle Scholar
CGSB 2006 Organic Production Systems General Principles and Management Standards. http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/ongc-cgsb/programme-program/normes-standards/internet/bio-org/principes-principles-eng.html#a077Google Scholar
Chang, L and Krosnick, JA 2009 National surveys via RDD tele-phone interviewing versus the internet comparing sample repre-sentativeness and response quality. Public Opinion Quarterly 73:641–678. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfp075CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Danielson, PA 2010 Designing a machine to learn about the ethics of robotics: The N-Reasons platform. Ethics Information Technology 12: 251–261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10676-009-9214-xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daros, RR, Costa, JHC, von Keyserlingk, MAG, Hotzel, MJ, Weary, DM 2014 Separation from the dam causes negative judgement bias in dairy calves. PLoS One 9(5): e98429. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098429CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dewey, CE, Cox, BD, Straw, BE, Bush, EJ and Hurd, HS 1997 Associations between off-label feed additives and farm size, vet-erinary consultant use, and animal age. Preventative Veterinary Medicine 31: 133–146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0167-5877(96)01077-XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donnelly, MT and Hawkey, CJ 1997 COXII inhibitors - a new generation of safer NSAIDs? Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics 11: 227–236. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2036.1997.154330000.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fajt, VR, Wagner, SA and Norby, B 2011 Analgesic drug administration and attitudes about analgesia in cattle among bovine practitioners in the United States. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 238: 755–767. http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.238.6.755CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fulwider, WK, Grandin, T, Rollin, BE, Engle, TE, Dalsted, NL and Lamm, WD 2008 Survey of dairy management practices on one hundred thirteen north central and northeastern United States dairies. Journal of Dairy Science 91: 1686–1692. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2007-0631CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gabler, M, Tozer, PR and Heinrichs, AJ 2000 Development of a cost analysis spreadsheet for calculating the costs to raise a replacement dairy heifer. Journal of Dairy Science 83: 1104–1109. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(00)74975-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gavrell-Ortiz, SE 2004 Beyond welfare: animal integrity, animal dignity, and genetic engineering. Ethics and the Environment 9: 94–120. http://dx.doi.org/10.2979/ETE.2004.9.1.94CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gosling, SD, Vazire, S, Srivastava, S and John, OP 2004 Should we trust web-based studies? A comparative analysis of six preconceptions about internet questionnaires. American Psychologist 59: 93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.2.93CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gottardo, F, Nalon, E, Contiero, B, Normando, S, Dalvit, P and Cozzi, G 2011 The dehorning of dairy calves: Practices and opinions of 639 farmers. Journal of Dairy Science 94: 5724–5734. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2011-4443CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grøndahl-Nielsen, C, Simonsen, HB, Damkjer Lund, J and Hesselholt, H 1999 Behavioural, endocrine and cardiac respons-es in young calves undergoing dehorning without and with the use of sedation and analgesia. The Veterinary Journal 158: 14–20CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heerwegh, D 2009 Mode differences between face-to-face and web surveys: an experimental investigation of data quality and social desirability effects. International Journal of Public Opinion Research 21: 111–121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edn054CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heinrich, A, Duffield, TF, Lissemore, KD and Millman, ST 2010 The effect of meloxicam on behavior and pain sensitivity of dairy calves following cautery dehorning with a local anesthetic. Journal of Dairy Science 93: 2450–2457. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2009-2813CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heleski, CR, Mertig, AG and Zanella, AJ 2004 Assessing atti-tudes toward farm animal welfare: a national survey of animal sci-ence faculty members. Journal of Animal Science 82: 2806–2814CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hewson, CJ, Dohoo, IR, Lemke, KA and Barkema, HW 2007 Canadian veterinarians’ use of analgesics in cattle, pigs, and hors-es in 2004 and 2005. Canadian Veterinary Journal 48: 155–164Google ScholarPubMed
Hoe, FGH and Ruegg, PL 2006 Opinions and practices of Wisconsin dairy producers about biosecurity and animal well-being. Journal of Dairy Science 89: 2297–2308. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(06)72301-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoeschele, I 1990 Potential gain from insertion of major genes into dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 73: 2601. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(90)78947-3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, J, Arnholdt, T, Möstl, E, Gelfert, CC and Drillich, M 2013 Pain management with flunixin meglumine at dehorning of calves. Journal of Dairy Science 96: 132–140. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-5483CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huxley, JN and Whay, HR 2006 Current attitudes of cattle practitioners to pain and the use of analgesics in cattle. Veterinary Record 159: 662–668. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.159.20.662CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knight, S and Barnett, L 2008 Justifying attitudes towards animal use: A qualitative study of people's views and beliefs. Anthrozoös 21:31–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/089279308X274047CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laven, RA, Huxley, JN, Whay, HR and Stafford, KJ 2009 Results of a survey of attitudes of dairy veterinarians in New Zealand regarding painful procedures and conditions in cattle. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 57: 215–220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00480169.2009.36904CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Le Cozler, Y, Recourse, O, Ganche, E, Giraud, D, Danel, J, Bertin, M and Brunschwig, P 2012 A survey on dairy heifer farm management practices in a Western-European plainland, the French Pays de la Loire region. The Journal of Agriculture Science 150: 518–533. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0021859612000032CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, CR and Gregory, KE 1978 Inheritance of the horned, scurred and polled condition in cattle. Journal of Heredity 69: 395–400CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGrath, PJ 2011 Science is not enough: The modern history of pediatric pain. Pain 152: 2457–2459. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2011.07.018CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McMeekan, CM, Stafford, KJ, Mellor, DJ, Bruce, RA, Ward, RN and Gregory, NG 1999 Effects of a local anaesthetic and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic on the behavioural responses of calves to dehorning. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 47: 92–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00480169.1999.36120CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mellor, DJ and Diesch, TJ 2006 Onset of sentience: the poten-tial for suffering in fetal and newborn farm animals. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 100: 48–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applan-im.2006.04.012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menke, C, Waiblinger, S, Folsch, DW and Wiepkema, PR 1999 Social behaviour and injuries of horned cows in loose housing systems. Animal Welfare 8: 243–258Google Scholar
Miele, M, Veissier, I, Evans, A and Botreau, R 2011 Animal welfare: establishing a dialogue between science and society. Animal Welfare 20: 103–117Google Scholar
Milligan, BN, Duffield, T and Lissemore, K 2004 The utility of ketoprofen for alleviating pain following dehorning in young dairy calves. Canadian Veterinary Journal 45: 140–143Google ScholarPubMed
Misch, LJ, Duffield, TF, Millman, ST and Lissemore, KD 2007 An investigation into the practices of dairy producers and veteri-narians in dehorning dairy calves in Ontario. Canadian Veterinary Journal 48: 1249–1254Google ScholarPubMed
NAWAC 2005 Animal Welfare (Painful Husbandry Procedures) Code of Welfare. Code of Welfare No 7. National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee: Wellington, New ZealandGoogle Scholar
Neave, HW, Daros, RR, Costa, JHC, von Keyserlingk, MAG and Weary, DM 2013 Pain and pessimism: Dairy calves exhibit negative judgment bias following hot-iron disbudding. PLoS One 8: e80556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0080556CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NFACC 2009 Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle. http://www.nfacc.ca/pdfs/codes/Dairy%20Code%20of%20Practice.pdfGoogle Scholar
NMPF 2013 Animal Care Reference Manual. http://www.national-dairyfarm.com/sites/default/files/2013/FARM_manual_2013_ WEB.pdfGoogle Scholar
PIMC 2004 Model code of practice for the welfare of animals–cattle. http://www.publish.csiro.au/Books/download.cfm?ID=4831Google Scholar
Sawant, AA, Sordillo, LM and Jayarao, BM 2005 A survey on antibiotic usage in dairy herds in Pennsylvania. Journal of Dairy Science 88: 2991–2999. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(05)72979-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schuppli, CA, von Keyserlingk, MAG and Weary, DM 2014 Access to pasture for dairy cows: Responses from an on-line engagement. Journal of Animal Science 92: 5185–5192. http://dx.doi.org/10.2527/jas.2014-7725CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartzkopf-Genswein, KS, Fierheller, EE, Caulkett, NA, Janzen, ED, Pajor, EA, González, LA and Moya, D 2012 Achieving pain control for routine management procedures in North American beef cattle. Animal Frontiers 2: 52–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.2527/af.2012-0049CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shaw, FD, Baxter, RI and Ramsay, WR 1976 The contribution of horned cattle to carcase bruising. Veterinary Record 98: 255–257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.98.13.255CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shimada, C, Kurumiya, S, Noguchi, Y and Umemoto, M 1990 The effect of neonatal exposure to chronic footshock on pain-responsiveness and sensitivity to morphine after maturation in the rat. Behavioural Brain Research 36: 105–111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0166-4328(90)90165-BCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, G 2013 Extralabel use of anesthetic and analgesic com-pounds in cattle. Veterinary Clinics of North America - Food Animal Practice 29: 29–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2012.11.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, GW, Davis, JL, Tell, LA, Webb, AI and Riviere, JE 2008 Extralabel use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in cattle. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 232:697–701. http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.232.5.697CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stafford, KJ and Mellor, DJ 2005 Dehorning and disbudding dis-tress and its alleviation in calves. The Veterinary Journal 169: 337–349. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2004.02.005CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stafford, KJ and Mellor, DJ 2011 Addressing the pain associated with disbudding and dehorning in cattle. Applied Animal Behaviour Science135:226-231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2011.10.018CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, WF, Scorr, L, Smith, LD, Ridgway, CG and Stout, M 2005 Long-term effects of neonatal surgery on adulthood pain behav-ior. Pain 113: 347–353. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2004.11.013CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, M, Stookey, JM, Stafford, KJ, Tucker, CB, Rogers, AR, Dowling, SK, Stilwell, GA, de Carvalho, RC, Lima, MS and Broom, DM 2009 Effect of caustic paste disbudding, using local anaesthesia with and without analgesia, on behaviour and cortisol of calves. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 116: 35–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2008.06.008Google Scholar
Stilwell, G, Lima, MS, Carvalho, RC and Broom, DM 2012 Effects of hot-iron disbudding, using regional anaesthesia with and without carprofen, on cortisol and behaviour of calves. Research in Veterinary Science 92: 338–341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2011.02.005Google ScholarPubMed
Sutherland, MA, Mellor, DJ, Stafford, KJ, Gregory, NG, Bruce, RA and Ward, RN 2002 Cortisol responses to dehorning of calves given a 5-h local anaesthetic regimen plus phenylbu-tazone, ketoprofen or adrenocorticotropic hormone prior to dehorning. Research in Veterinary Science 73: 115–123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0034-5288(02)00005-XCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taschke, AC and Folsch, DW 1997 Ethological, physiological and histological aspects of pain and stress in cattle when being dehorned. Tierarztliche Praxis 25: 19–27Google ScholarPubMed
Tourangeau, R and Yan, T 2007 Sensitive questions in surveys. Psychological Bulletin 133: 859. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.5.859CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
USDA 1994 Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994(AMDUCA). Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations, part 530. Fed Regist 7. FDA: Washington, DC, USAGoogle Scholar
USDA 2008 Beef 2007-08, Part III: Changes in the U.S. Beef Cow-Calf Industry, 1993-2008. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/beefcowcalf/downloads/beef0708/Beef0708_dr_PartIII.pdfGoogle Scholar
USDA 2009 Dairy 2007, Part IV: Reference of Dairy Cattle Health and Management Practices in the United States, 2007. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/dairy/down-loads/dairy07/Dairy07_dr_PartIV.pdfGoogle Scholar
Vasseur, E, Borderas, F, Cue, RL, Lefebvre, D, Pellerin, D, Rushen, J, Wade, KM and de Passillé, AM 2010 A survey of dairy calf management practices in Canada that affect animal wel-fare. Journal of Dairy Science 93: 1307–1315. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2009-2429CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ventura, BA, von Keyserlingk, MAG, Schuppli, CA and Weary, DM 2013 Views on contentious practices in dairy farming: The case of early cow-calf separation. Journal of Dairy Science 96: 6105–6116. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-6040CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wallace, JL 1997 Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and gastroenteropathy: the second hundred years. Gastroenterology 112: 1000–1016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/gast.1997.v112.pm9041264CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weary, DM, Schuppli, CA and von Keyserlingk, MAG 2011 Tail docking dairy cattle: Responses from an online engagement. Journal of Animal Science 89: 3831–3837. http://dx.doi.org/10.2527/jas.2011-3858CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wikman, I, Hokkanen, AH, Pastell, M, Kauppinen, T, Valros, A and Hänninen, L 2013 Dairy producer attitudes to pain in cat-tle in relation to disbudding calves. Journal of Dairy Science 96:6894–6903. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2012-6128CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wythes, JR, Horder, JC, Lapworth, JW and Cheffins, RC 1979 Effect of tipped horns on cattle bruising. The Veterinary Record 104: 390–392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/vr.104.17.390CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed