RSPCA report

Re: RSPCA report

Phil Elkins — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:38:23 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]However. "Cutting into live tissue" in a cow's foot without analgesia would be unquestionably illegal [/quote]

Which is why we try to avoid cutting into painful live tissue. Cutting away at horn, despite it being live, is no more painful than nail trimming when performed correctly. Whenever painful laminae are involved, the majority of vets, and I'm thankful to say a large proportion of farmers now will give cows appropriate NSAID therapy. A lot of time and money has been spent proving the financial benefis of good lameness prevention and treatment and the role of pain relief in this.

Re: RSPCA report

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:14:42 GMT

The RSPCA are a weird lot. I would think a few large animal practitioners would be better able to comment than me.

However. "Cutting into live tissue" in a cow's foot without analgesia would be unquestionably illegal under the Protection of Animals (Anaesthetics) Act 1911.

Of course that excellent Act has been repealed by the woolly Animal Welfare Act (which the RSPCA is so keen on). I suppose the idea is that most reasonable people would assume that cutting sensitive tissue without adequate analgesia would definitely be "likely to cause unnecessary suffering"; but the AWA doesn't actually say so.