Trading off animal welfare and production goals: Brazilian dairy farmers' perspectives on calf dehorning

- Farmers have positive attitudes towards dehorning calves.
- Farmers perceive dehorning as a painful experience for the calves.
- Lack of knowledge on available methods for pain mitigation is a barrier to changing practice.
- Changing dehorning practices may require changes in farm advisors' attitudes.

Dehorning of young calves is a routine management practice used on many dairy farms around the world. Dehorning is done to minimize injuries to stockpersons and other cattle. Most stakeholders not associated with the dairy industry frequently criticize this procedure, arguing that it is painful for the animal, which is supported by scientific evidence. Although research has shown that the pain associated with dehorning can be mitigated through the use of pharmacological tools, many farmers still routinely dehorn their calves without the use of pain mitigation. To elicit views regarding dehorning practices used on calves, including evaluating the importance of this procedure in the overall management of the herd, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 37 farmers located in southern Brazil. Participants recognized dehorning as a required management practice but also identified it as a painful procedure, showing empathy for the animals. However, participants appeared to trade off production and welfare goals, frequently stating that high production was more important than the welfare of calves as justification for not using pain mitigation when dehorning. The lack of knowledge regarding means to mitigate pain associated with dehorning was identified as a primary barrier preventing the routine adoption of pain mitigation strategies. It was clear that advisors from public and private extension programs were the primary source of knowledge on dehorning. This work indicates the urgent need for extension efforts to include information on science based best practices targeted at dairy producers and dairy industry professionals advising producers regarding dehorning of dairy calves.