"By signing this legislation, Governor Schwarzenegger can halt the cruel and inhumane tail docking of tens of thousands of cows in California," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "All animals deserve humane treatment, including animals raised for food, and there's no excuse for this needless mutilation of animals."

The bill's supporters include The HSUS, the California Veterinary Medical Association, the ASPCA, the California Farm Bureau and the California Cattlemen's Association. If enacted, S.B. 135 would be the first state law banning tail docking. California is the largest dairy state in the nation, and enactment of this measure should increase pressure on other large dairy states to follow suit.

The practice of routinely amputating portions of dairy cows' tails--without any painkiller--is already banned in several nations and opposed by The HSUS, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Bovine Practitioners Association.

Comprehensive research by California animal scientists and veterinarians found that "the available data do not support claims that docking improves the dairy workers' comfort or safety or the health or cleanliness of the cow's udder." The California Dairy Quality Assurance program even advises that "[t]here is no benefit to tail docking normal, healthy tails in dairy cattle based on peer-reviewed scientific studies and governmental sponsored research." The program concludes that "[t]ail docking... must not be routinely performed on the dairy herd."

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Source: The Humane Society of the United States