Dehorning removes horn growth from cattle to reduce injury risk in housed herds. When performed without anaesthesia it causes severe pain — yet painless alternatives exist and adoption is increasing.
Pain-free dehorning is entirely achievable through proper local anaesthesia combined with NSAIDs for post-procedural analgesia. However, compliance varies widely, particularly on smaller farms. Genetic selection for the polled gene is the most sustainable long-term solution, eliminating the welfare problem entirely. UK genomic testing now makes polled breeding feasible even without sacrificing production traits.