Many people perceive that cows don’t have horns, but this belief is actually false. All cattle, male or female, naturally grow to have horns.
The reason why people think female adult cows don’t have horns is that they were removed when they were young. This practice is called dehorning, a process using dehorning tools to remove the horns from the cow’s head.
On the other hand, scientists have already made a hornless cow using gene editing. With Buri, a hornless cow created by a team of researchers in Japan, the possibility of a future without dehorning is not far away. However, a recent discovery showed that the cloning was a big failure due to a plasmid, a small bacterial gene, found only in the cloned cow.
Why Do Cows Have To Be Dehorned?
Cows are dehorned for safety reasons. A cow’s horns can pose a danger to humans and other animals if they become agitated. They can also cause injuries to other cows as well as physical damage to buildings and fences.
Cows are usually dehorned when they are young, as this is considered to be the easiest and most humane way to remove them. They are usually sedated before the procedure, and it may take several days to heal.
Is Dehorning Necessary?
Cows can still be handled even without being dehorned, and with proper handling and training, they can be managed. However, it would require a lot of attention and effort to create a safe environment for the cows and those working with them.
The decision to dehorn or not should depend on how people manage their herd and how much risk they can tolerate. Ultimately, it is up to the farmer’s discretion whether or not to dehorn their cows.
