Dehorning is one of the most common painful procedures in cattle production. Improved timing, pain management, and breeding for hornlessness significantly reduce suffering.
Dehorning without pain management is one of the most ethically indefensible common practices in livestock farming. The procedure, which involves destroying or removing the horn buds or fully grown horns, causes acute pain that is clearly evident in behavior: vocalizations, escape attempts, head shaking, and prolonged behavioral indicators of pain. Despite decades of evidence that local anesthesia and NSAIDs effectively control pain during and after the procedure, many producers continue to disbud and dehorn without any pain management. The welfare case for mandatory pain relief is overwhelming - the cost of a local anesthetic is minimal and the benefit to the animal is substantial. The longer-term solution - breeding polled cattle - eliminates the need for the procedure entirely.