Dehorning is one of the most painful routine procedures in cattle production, and alternatives including polled genetics offer paths to eliminating it.
Cattle dehorning causes significant, often preventable pain. The procedure is performed to reduce injuries to other cattle and to farm workers, but the underlying need for dehorning arises from the combination of horned genetics and intensive management systems. Three pathways to reducing dehorning welfare impact exist: improved pain management that should be mandatory for any dehorning procedure, disbudding of calves at the youngest possible age when horn tissue is minimal, and long-term transition to polled genetics that eliminates the need for the procedure entirely. Polled gene editing technologies are advancing and offer the prospect of maintaining the full genetic diversity of existing breeds while eliminating the horn gene.