Imagine having a finger or an ear cut off without anesthesia or painkillers. That’s the pain and trauma that cattle at farms in Western Australia endure during routine “dehorning” procedures. Brave activists filmed these grotesque medical procedures and documented how the cattle scream and struggle as their horns are violently sliced or pulled from their heads. Why are they screaming? Because as their nerve endings are brutally severed, they can feel everything.
Dehorning itself isn’t actually the problem: cattle often can inadvertently injure each other with their horns. But the practice is extremely unregulated in Western Australia. Since ranchers claim that hiring veterinarians and prescribing painkillers are too expensive and inconvenient, it’s no wonder a mere 15% of the industry uses anesthesia during these surgeries. Animals’ pain and welfare should never come second to greed-driven bottom-lines. Sign the petition to demand Western Australia mandate pain relief for all cattle during dehorning.