Dairy Industry Claims Torching Udders of Dairy Cows Painless, Prevents Mastitis
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Free From Harm
May 2013

The claim that the cows feel no pain from having a flame in contact with their sensitive udders is “udderly” ridiculous. We share the same kind of pain receptors with cows.

 

Just when I thought I knew all the common, standard industry practices in dairy farming, I find something even more bizarre and cruel. The sound in a video is said to be “turned off” since it is for “trade show purposes” but one wonders if the sound of the cows confined to stalls and having their udders torched would reveal how unpleasant this experience is for the animals.

The claim that the cows feel no pain from having a flame in contact with their sensitive udders is “udderly” ridiculous. We share the same kind of pain receptors with cows.

They justify the torching of cows’ udders as follows:

The UdderSinge uses a low temperature flame passed 2-4″ below the udder and belly that removes hair quickly and painlessly. Removing hair aids in creating a healthier cow by reducing the occurrence of mastitis in the cow’s udder.

Mastitis is a painful disease that causes painful swelling and infection in the udder and is potentially fatal for the cow. Removing udder hair decreases somatic cell counts [blood cells] in milk thus making the product safer for the consumer.

---

Return to Animal Rights Articles
Read more at The Meat and Dairy Industries