In the May 17 article,”Behavior in lot affects weight”, Mr. (Jeff) Grognet made reference that “some cattle behavior is a liability in feedlots,” and then went on to suggest that “Identifying animals with behavior problems is critical … . They should not be bought or else they should be separated to minimize losses.”
Mr. Grognet goes on to state “One way to select cattle is to look at the position of the spiral hair whorl on the face. Cattle with spiral hair whorls above the eye are more agitated in a squeeze chute than cattle with whorls below the eye.”
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To substantiate his above/below the eye hair-whorl theory, Mr. Grognet quotes researchers at Colorado State who suggest that “hair patterns in the fetus form at the same time as the brain develops.” So does every other part of an animal’s anatomy. Quite a stretch to presume that one could predict behavior from the pattern of an animal’s hair.
He further stretches his somewhat questionable theory to the human animal by stating “Different arrangements of hair whorl patterns are also seen in children with Down’s syndrome and other developmental disabilities.” At best, a silly assertion, at worst an unforgivable suggestion that we can predict the behavior of a person by the existence or location of a hair whorl.
For Mr. Grognet’s information, people who present with Down’s syndrome are people first; their behavior patterns mirror that of the general population. Like everyone else in the ‘typical’ population, their behavior is motivated by needs and by the response of others when they seek to satisfy their needs.
When Mr. Grognet is contemplating how he might apologize to those who present with Down’s syndrome, or those who might present with a cowlick, perhaps he might wonder at the application of his ‘theory’. I am sure he would prefer to answer my question, “I wonder who you are, Jeff?” rather than leave me to make judgments by looking at his picture in The Producer.
– Gerry Moulds,
Executive Director,
Community Living Society,
Delta, B.C.
