Dehorning of cattle is performed on millions of animals annually to reduce injury risk in herds. Conventional methods cause significant pain that is increasingly recognised as preventable through improved techniques and analgesic use.
Dehorning is one of the most widespread painful husbandry procedures in cattle production, yet pain relief use remains variable and inadequate in many countries. Calves dehorned without anaesthesia show classic pain responses: elevated cortisol, head-shaking, foot-stamping, and prolonged altered behaviour. Post-operative pain from wound healing causes ongoing suffering for days after the procedure. The welfare case for pain relief is scientifically robust and the cost of a cornual nerve block is minimal relative to the welfare benefit. Genetic polling — breeding naturally hornless cattle — eliminates the need for dehorning entirely and is increasingly feasible with modern genomic selection tools. Moving toward a polled industry is a long-term welfare solution that removes this pain point entirely.