Pain nipped in the disbudding

Apair of New Zealand vet researchers have come up with a world-first method that offers an alternative to the painful and somewhat outdated “disbudding” procedure in young calves.

Disbudding involves the use of a hot iron to cauterise the tissue where horns would normally develop. Research suggests it’s not unusual for calves to feel pain due to the open wound, or its healing process.

Welfare Concepts, founded by Richard Emslie and Richard Olde Riekerink, both NZregistered veterinarians, has patented a pharmaceutical that is injected underneath the area in which horn buds develop and has a localised effect, preventing hornbud development.

year undergo the routine removal of the tissue that would see them develop horns,” Olde Riekerink says.

“Disbudding is important to protect herdmates and people from possible injury from horns. While many beef cattle have been bred to eliminate horns, the genes responsible for horn development are closely associated with milk production, meaning most dairy calves worldwide undergo a painful procedure.

“Welfare Concepts believes that if we have the knowledge and know-how to make animals far more comfortable, it should be our responsibility to do so. There are a lot of processes and procedures like this one that can and should be improved using modern veterinarian science.”

Says Emslie: “NZ leads the world in dairy exports. We believe that it’s also time to lead the world in calf and cow care. We’re proud to be partnering with AgriHealth to achieve this through innovative dairy cattle veterinary medicines,”

Ed Catherwood, managing director of AgriHealth, the sole investor in the seed round, says consumers around the world care about how animals are treated.

The product has been successfully tested on calves and appears to be both safe and effective, the company says. Researchers are optimising the product and preparing for clinical trials, after which the product will be scaled up for commercial manufacture.

“Up to a million young calves destined to join the country’s dairy herds each

“What Welfare Concepts has developed has the potential to reshape an industry ripe for disruption and we’re excited to be partnering with them,” he says.

To date, the animal health company has raised $3 million to develop a handful of pharmaceutical innovations that it believes will bring about a step-change in the health and welfare of NZ’s dairy herds.