Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
[Music]
Hi, I'm Casey Affleck for PETA.
Did you know that almost all calves on dairy farms are born with tissue that will develop
into horns?
You almost never see those horns, because most calves used by the dairy industry have
their horns burned or gouged out of their heads.
Workers use various methods to de-horn calves, including burning the tissue away 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 that they come into contact with, including the animals flesh or even their eyes.
Knives, shears and other tools are also used to cut sensitive horn tissue off calves heads.
[Worker yells, inaudible] By the time calves are about two months old, their growing horns
have begun to take root in their skulls, making the de-horning procedure even more painful,
bloody and dangerous.
On older animals, workers often use a sharp, metal scoop that they press into the calves
heads to gouge out the horns and the surrounding tissue.
Workers may also saw off horns with a handsaw or sharp wire, or they use a guillotine de-horner,
[cow screams] which cuts through the base of the horn as well as the surrounding flesh.
Cows and calves struggle desperately during de-horning, thrashing, tossing their heads,
rearing-up, switching their tails, bellowing and collapsing to the ground. All signs of
severe pain and distress.
All these procedures are routinely performed without giving the animals any pain killers,
whatsoever.
You can 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 local grocery store.
Thank you.