Consumer trends indicate increasing demand for more accountability and
transparency for farming practices. The public is concerned with how the
farm animals raised for meat, milk, eggs, and fiber are treated. By in
large, they do not want to give up animal products, but rather want to be
reassured that the individual animal’s well-being is still paramount to
farmers.
The practice of routinely tail docking dairy cattle has become an area
of concern for today’s discerning consumer and animal welfare/rights
groups alike. We have good reason to believe that the Human Society of
the United States (HSUS) may be introducing a bill this upcoming
legislative session banning the practice of routine tail docking of dairy
cattle in Washington
State. We do not have statistics on the prevalence of tail docking in
Washington State, but we do know that while the practice is increasing in
popularity nationally, its use is declining in many Western states.
According to the most recent National Animal Health Monitory System (NAHMS)
survey, 39% of dairy cows in the U.S.
had docked tails.
The practice has been banned in most of the developed world including:
the European Union, Australia, New Zealand,
and Canada. This past fall, California
became the first U.S. state to prohibit the practice. The practice
of tail docking dairy cattle has been comprehensively studied and there
have been no benefits associated with the practice in term of udder
health, milk quality, cow cleanliness, and worker health.
Furthermore, tail docking of dairy cattle has been shown to be both
acutely painful (although the pain appears to be mild to moderate) and
chronically painful in the form of neuromas (bundles of hyper-sensitive
nerve endings) that develop at the end of the severed stump; similar to
the phantom pain described by many human amputees. Tail docking has also
been repeatedly shown to inhibit a cow’s natural ability to control flies.
More recently, the WSDF Board of Directors moved to be proactive by
recommending elimination of tail docking on Washington’s dairy
farms as soon as possible. We strongly encourage you to reconsider the
routine practice of tail docking dairy cattle. Switch trimming or the
clipping of the long hairs of the tail, is recommended as a viable
alternative. Scientific literature reviews on the practice of tail
docking are below, "Tail Docking Research Information". If you have any
questions or comments please feel free to contact Jesse Robbins,
Program Director at 360.482.3485/206.930.9814 or email
jesse.wsdf@comcast.net.
