Cattle dehorning prevents injury to animals and handlers but causes significant pain, while genetic solutions are emerging that may eliminate the need.
Cattle dehorning is performed to prevent serious injury in group-housed cattle, but the procedure itself causes significant pain that is routinely undertreated. The ideal solution is to eliminate the need for dehorning entirely through genetic selection for hornlessness (the polled trait), which is naturally present in many beef breeds. Polled genetics in dairy cattle, where horned breeds dominate, is advancing through selective breeding. In the interim, mandatory use of local anesthesia and post-procedure pain relief for all dehorning procedures would dramatically reduce the welfare cost of this routine practice.