Company Aims To End Calf Horn Removal

Company Aims To End Calf Horn Removal DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Welfare Concepts is a New Zealand startup that aims to make life less traumatic for dairy animals The company recently invented a medical alternative to disbudding the process of removing the horn tissue of young calves Co-founders Richard Emslie and Richard Olde Riekerink are veterinarians with decades of combined experience working on farms and in research labs They have patented an injection that prevents growth at the site on the skull where horn buds develop They aim to enable farmers to control horn development within their herd without putting the animals through the removal process Disbudding is a safety procedure that prevents cows from hurting each other with their horns It’s a largely unregulated process that millions of animals go through each year Typically disbudding requires a hot iron to cauterize the tissue where horns would otherwise develop Many animals will show pain symptoms for weeks Some breeds of beef cattle are bred to remove horns altogether but the genes for horn growth are closely linked with milk production meaning they can’t be omitted from the genetics and are an inevitable part of the industry While Welfare Concept’s injection remains in the research stage the team has achieved proof of concept and evidence that it works on calves They plan to scale up operations to undergo clinical trials that can further prove the injection is safe and effective Assuming it passes regulatory guidelines this injection may be commercially available within 3 years Meanwhile Welfare Concepts continues to innovate The company has raised over $3 million NZD for further innovation and has four new products in the works Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Welfare Concepts 301R Botany Rd Golflands Auckland 2013 New Zealand

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.