Dairy cows with horns have long been a safety hazard to farmers and walkers which is why so many farmers burn off the horn buds on calves. That procedure is difficult and unpleasant for the farmers and intensely painful for the animals. But the alternative is to see death or harm come to human handlers and other cows. However, researchers think they know the way to suppress horn growth without doing any procedure to the animal after conception. Such an achievement would be cheered as much by the cows as by the farmers.
In this video, a dairy farmer explains in detail why dehorning is necessary and how it is commonly done today.
"The worst thing is the pain for the calf once the anesthetic wears off,” said Mansel Raymond, a farmer and chairman of the National Farmers’ Union Dairy board for England and Wales in an article in The Telegraph.
Amputating horns from full grown cattle isn’t any kinder or gentler. Indeed, it is often more dangerous to both the farmer and the animal.
It is important to remember that cattle are among the most dangerous of all livestock in terms of the number of humans and animals that are hurt or killed annually in every country. Dehorning is not a matter of convenience in handling, nor a malicious act on the part of the human handlers. It is simply a necessity to ensure the safety of all concerned, including the animals that are being dehorned as they could otherwise harm themselves or each other.
Researchers think the more humane way, and the more efficient means, to eradicate horn growth is to genetically suppress it in the animals’ genetic code. While this sounds like a simple, no-nonsense maneuver, it actually involves a new form of genetic engineering.
In essence, the move requires researchers to insert DNA from a hornless breed into the genome of Holstein cows. The aim is to create cows that are identical to existing dairy cows in every way except they never grow horns.
While researchers have been able to suppress horn growth in other breeds, such efforts have failed in dairy cows since they also suppress milk yields. But researchers in the U.K. are hard at work to perfect the technique and protect milk production. They are working closely with Scott Fahrenkrug, professor of genetics at the University of Minnesota, who is experimenting with a similar technique on Holsteins in the U.S.
Fahrenkrug has inserted horn suppressing DNA from the genome of Red Angus cattle into cells taken from a prime Holstein bull named Randy. He then plans to use cloning technology to turn the modified cells into embryos and implant them in surrogate mothers. The birthed animals will be clones of Randy without horns but their offspring should be hornless too.
If the genetic modification works, dehorning will no longer be necessary. Both animal and mankind will welcome the news.