The first video shows three people disbudding the vestigial horns on a young dairy calf. The calf struggles against the handlers, tries to throw its head and then sags to the floor.
The second video shows one person doing the same procedure. The calf stands still, docile and calm.
The difference between the two videos was administration of the painkiller lidocaine before the disbudding took place.
Dr. Ed Pajor, a University of Calgary professor in veterinary medicine, showed the videos to a group of Leth-bridge area dairy producers April 11 at a calf management workshop.
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“I think the idea that animals don’t experience pain is something that we really need to just discard,” he said.
“It’s clear animals experience pain. The issue is what you do about it. How do you do it effectively, efficiently and in a cost effective way?”
Pajor is recognized internationally for his work on animal welfare and served on the scientific review committee in developing three of the livestock codes.
The dairy code requires that pain control be used when dehorning or disbudding dairy animals.
Pajor said a recent survey of 84 Alberta dairy producers showed 34 percent use pain relief on animals when dehorning or disbudding.
Injecting a painkiller around the horn bud before disbudding can change a three-person job into a one-person job.
“Painful procedures do not need to be so much of a pain for you or for the animal,” said Pajor.
“That’s a three-way win. It’s a win for the producers in terms of the amount of work that they have to do and how hard they have to struggle to get that process done. It’s a win for the animal in terms of what they experience.”
Pajor said the third win is producers’ ability to tell people how they dehorn or disbud animals with pain control and animal welfare in mind.
The dairy code recommends that disbudding occur before calves reach three weeks of age.
