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The Tail Docking Reality by Marcia Medrano

If we do not show pain, does that mean we do not feel pain?

Domestic animals, by definition, are animals accustomed to living in an environment managed by Humans.  Where, must the line be drawn, in determining what environmental, emotional and physical manipulations we can place on these creatures? Animals are living, breathing sentient beings and we as humans have taken it upon ourselves to control their existence as deemed necessary.  For this reason, it is crucial to find a balance between the essential needs of humans and the well being of all animals alike. 

Having grown up in a big city and never seeing or experiencing what a dairy farm is like, I envisioned cows grazing out on pasture, ruminating and socializing with the other cows.  Now as I embrace my veterinary career, I have come to discover that this image I painted in my mind is not the reality of dairy farms.  After all it is a business, a farm factory where the goal is to maximize production, while minimizing cost.   This is the mentality of some farmers and in order to lessen the cost to benefit ratio, the compromise too often made is at the expense of the welfare of the farm animals.  Tail docking of cattle is a prime example.  Tail docking originated in New Zealand during the early 1900's where it was believed to aid in avoiding zoonotic diseases such as Leptospirosis.  This disease is shed in the urine and hence present on tails that have contacted urine.  Limited research has been done to prove this claim, and in reality research shows improved workplace hygiene and other measures are more effective at controlling Leptospirosis.  Secondarily, tail docking was used to allow farmers avoidance from being hit in the face by a tail full of feces.  The latter usually occurs in milk parlors where milking takes place between the legs.  In North America, this practice is rapidly gaining foothold but the reasons for tail docking are said to be improvement in cow cleanliness and udder health.   The idea being, cleaner cows will harbor less pathogens, demonstrate an improvement in udder health and consequently there should be a decrease in mastitis cases.  Contrary to these beliefs, research has showed that there is no difference between an intact and a docked cow's cleanliness, and its relationship to cases of mastitis or milk somatic counts.

This practice is banned in the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Scotland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and some Australian states.  The American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) position statement was clearly made when they stated "The AABP is not aware of sufficient scientific evidence in literature to support tail docking in cattle.  If it is deemed necessary for proper care of production animals in certain conditions, veterinarians should counsel clients on pros and cons of the procedure, benefits, and risks."  In addition, the AVMA opposes the routine tail docking of cattle and states that if amputation is necessary, it must be done by a licensed veterinarian.  Unfortunately, this procedure is usually not performed by a licensed veterinarian and is carried out by the farmers themselves.  Generally, this procedure is done on calves near weaning age and preparturient heifers. Usually they are not anesthetized for the amputation. 

A variety of methods have been employed including the use of tourniquets, emasculators and rubber rings; the most common being the use of elastrator bands. The tight band is placed on the tail just below the tip of the vulva constricting blood supply to the tail.  Then the tail is amputated either by pruning shears or left to necrose and fall off anywhere from 30 days to 7 weeks, depending on the age of the animal.  As this wound is left to heal, the necrotic tissue is prone to soil pathogens such as Clostridium tetani and gangrene.  These organisms may colonize and cause systemic infection.  Both conditions have been reported in docked cattle. One would imagine that this procedure would cause acute pain, but research shows that the pain inflicted by tail docking is minimal.  It must be kept in mind that cows are prey animals and do not show pain or fear as is noticeable in other animals.  Cows are stoic creatures, and we assume that they can't feel pain because they don't demonstrate, what humans would consider, noticeable "pain".  Physiological stress has been evaluated by looking at blood cortisol concentrations and tail docking did not prove to significantly increase levels above those associated with sample collection and handling.  It has been found that tail docking, in some cases, causes chronic pain due to neuroma formation.  A neuroma is a tumor composed of nerve tissue that forms at the site of an injury.  This reaction is commonly seen in human amputees, referred to as "phantom limb".  These people experience pain, discomfort or itching in the limbs they no longer have.

There is also speculation that the tail plays a role in communication, but this has yet to be well documented.  What is known is that a cow's tail plays an essential role in fly control. A cow's tail could be compared to the prehensile tail of a monkey or an elephant's trunk. The cow uses its tail as a "hand" to brush off its coat and limbs to dislodge flies that might be attached.  The Stable fly has been implicated in causing reduced weight gain, decreased milk production, reduced growth and disrupted grazing.  Research has shown that docked cows have almost doubled the amount of flies on their rear legs compared to intact cows and spend greater amounts of time in rear limb fly avoidance behaviors than the intact cow.  This includes stomping, tail swishing, skin twitching, kicking the trunk, head and ear motion and running away.  Having the docked cows under these stresses does not help the farmer but instead decreases production levels.

Ultimately, research does not support the dairy industry's reasoning behind tail docking.  Research has demonstrated the negative consequences that tail docking has on dairy cattle, to include neuroma formation causing chronic pain and increase in fly avoidance behaviors.  Clearly, tail docking is a management tool employed by dairy farms primarily as a convenience to the farmer. There are other more humane alternatives to tail docking, where the farmer can benefit as well as consideration of the welfare of the cow.

In my opinion, there is no reasonable explanation to justify tail docking in cattle. Animal welfare, under the guidance of veterinary medicine and its ethical foundations, will be a constant struggle until the day veterinarians join together in the fight for animal rights. This day will only emerge when cost to benefit ratio and bottom lines for business plans are avoided in determining what is ethical and what is not. Until then, to stand back and watch these cruelties occur is an injustice to the veterinary profession. Tail docking is not a universal practice in North America, and many farmers would never consider this procedure. Therefore, I believe that it is up to the veterinary profession to educate the public, farmers, and our colleagues on other more efficient methods to prevent this practice.  Ultimately, we must be the voices for these creatures that give so much and ask nothing in return.

Citations:

AVMA. (2006, April) Welfare implications of tail docking of dairy cattle. Issues in Animal welfare,

http://www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/tail_docking_cattle_bgnd.asp, accessed September 30, 2006.

AVMA (2005, June) Tail docking of cattle. Issues,

http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/animal_welfare/tail_docking_cattle.asp, accessed September 30, 2006.

Halverson, Marlene. (2002, Fall) Tail Docking Dairy Cattle. Animal Welfare Institute Quarterly; Fall 2002 Volume 51 Number 4,

http://www.awionline.org/farm/taildockdairy.pdf, accessed September 30, 2006.

Tucker, Cassandra., Weary, Dan. (2001, January) Tail Docking Dairy Cattle. UBC Dairy Centre Research Report #2,

www.agsci.ubc.ca/dairy_centre, accessed September 30, 2006

Tucker, C.B., Weary, D.M. (2002, Spring) Tail Docking in Dairy Cattle. Animal Welfare Information Center Bulletin, Winter 2001-Spring 2002, Vol. 11 No. 3-4,