With increasing public interest in farm animal handling practices, a new website – Dehorning.com – has been launched to share science-based information and facilitate discussion about cattle dehorning. The website is sponsored by H.W. Naylor Company, Inc.
“Consumers have shown a growing interest in how animals, especially dairy and beef cattle, are raised and cared for,” says David Lucas, president, H.W. Naylor Company, Inc., who grew up on a dairy farm. “When it comes to dehorning, however, there hasn’t been a place on the Internet for accessing credible research, articles and professional recommendations, and having a place to talk about it. That’s why we created dehorning.com.”
Dehorning.com provides:
• An explanation of the difference between dehorning and disbudding.
• Photos and information about various dehorning methods.
• Dehorning and disbudding videos.
• Access to research articles, which visitors can vote and comment on.
• A blog about farm management practices and science-based research related to dehorning and early-age disbudding.
• Answers to frequently asked questions.
Visitors to the site can subscribe to the blog via e-mail and RSS feeds, and join Facebook and Twitter pages. The site also invites producers, handlers, food retailers, veterinarians, researchers, academics and others with experience and interest in dehorning to become a guest blogger.
“I’ve been raising dairy replacement heifers at our biosecure facility for more than a decade and we now dehorn about 2,000 calves each year,” says Jeanne Wormuth, manager, CY Heifer Farm, Elba, New York. “Dehorning.com is a wonderful resource and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in how dairy cows and beef cattle are raised and treated.” PD
—From H.W. Naylor Company, Inc. news release
