Removing horns from cattle is routinely performed to reduce injury risk but causes significant pain requiring proper management.
Disbudding and dehorning are performed routinely with inadequate pain management in many farming contexts despite clear evidence that they cause significant acute and post-operative pain. Calves disbudded without anaesthesia show elevated cortisol for hours post-procedure. Pain-free alternatives include selective breeding for poll (hornless) genetics, which eliminates the need for the procedure entirely. Several major dairy breeds now have high frequencies of polling alleles making horn removal unnecessary.