Livestock

Adult Cattle Dehorning: Welfare and Pain Management 2026

Dehorning adult cattle is a significant welfare procedure that causes severe pain without adequate analgesia and should be replaced by disbudding of calves with proper pain management.

Key Facts

Adult dehorning involves removing fully developed horns, which have a blood supply and nerve supply
Adult dehorning without anaesthesia causes severe acute pain and significant bleeding
UK guidance requires use of local anaesthesia for dehorning cattle over 3 months of age
Disbudding of young calves causes much less welfare impact than adult dehorning when done with pain relief

Welfare Considerations

Adult dehorning without adequate analgesia causes severe and prolonged welfare impacts from pain, haemorrhage risk and wound healing. Welfare priorities include providing local nerve blocks and pre-emptive NSAID analgesia before adult dehorning, considering sedation, preventing adult dehorning becoming necessary through calf disbudding programmes, and breeding polled (hornless) animals as a long-term solution.

What You Can Do

Always use veterinary-prescribed local anaesthesia and NSAID analgesia for dehorning cattle over 3 months old
Implement calf disbudding programmes to prevent the need for adult dehorning
Consider introducing polled genetics into breeding programmes to eliminate horns entirely
Consult a vet about the most appropriate dehorning and disbudding protocols for your system