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When you see a cow on a dairy farm, there’s almost always something you don't see: horns.
When cows are born, they typically have tissue on their heads that will eventually develop
into horns. But the majority of calves used in U.S. dairy operations have their horns
burned or gouged out of their heads, which is why you don't see them.
Workers use various methods to dehorn cows, including burning the tissue away it with
a hot iron. Sometimes the searing heat also damages the underlying bone. On some farms,
workers use caustic chemicals, which eat away at the tissue as well as anything else they
come into contact with, including the animal's flesh or even the their eyes. Knives, shears,
and other tools are also used to cut horn tissue off calves’ heads.
By the time calves are about 2 months old, their growing horns have begun to take root
in their skulls, making the dehorning procedure even more painful, bloody, and dangerous.
On older animals, workers often use a sharp metal scoop that they press into the calf's
head to gouge out the horn and surrounding tissue. Workers may also saw off horns with
a hand saw or a sharp wire or use a “guillotine” dehorner, which cuts through the base of the
horn as well as the surrounding flesh. Cows and calves struggle mightily during dehorning,
thrashing, tossing their heads, rearing up, switching their tails, bellowing, and struggling
to the point of tripping and falling down, all signs of severe pain and distress. Older
animals are harder to restrain as they fight back out of fear and pain, so there is an
increased risk of trauma, blood loss, and infection. All of these procedures are routinely
performed without giving the animals any painkillers whatsoever.
Please, help stop this inhumane practice by avoiding cow's milk, cheese, and other dairy
products and instead, choosing from the many cruelty free non-dairy milks, yogurts, cheeses
and ice creams in your grocery stores. Please refuse to support such suffering by going
vegan today.