An animal rights group is once again petitioning farmers. The Humane Society of the United States, in a letter to the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, called upon dairy farmers to abandon the practice of tail docking on cows, saying it is “inhumane” to crop the tails of bovines.
Dairy farmers, however, don’t want the decision to be legislated.In a prepared statementresponding to the Human Society, the federation said such matters should be left up to individual farmers and veterinarians to decide “appropriate husbandry practices for their farm.”“This should remain a decision between farmers and their veterinarians, and not be a legislative mandate prompted by an animal rights group whose end goal is to eliminate animal agriculture.”
California bans the practice, the Human Society said, and having Wisconsin dairy farmers do the same would go a long way to show that the industry is “proactive on animal welfare problems.” It said that tail docking of dairy cows causes distress, pain, increased fly attacks and does not benefit cows or their farmers.
The federation disagrees, however, saying that while tail docking is not used on most farms, when it is used it’s to enhance animal cleanliness and milk quality. Also, it is not unlike the ear- or tail-cropping on domestic dogs and declawing of cats – it is done “primarily for the convenience of their owners.” PD
—Summarized by PD staff from cited sources
