Been seeing a lot of stupid stuff lately about cow hobbles.
Hobbles in the dairy industry are meant to keep weak cows from falling and doing the splits after a difficult calving or on slippery surfaces. They aren’t a “punishment” (lmfao). They’re a therapeutic tool used until we know the animal isn’t going to fall and further injure themselves. That’s it.
We use hobbles in chickens and other fowl in order to fix spay legs too!
People don’t blink at it because it’s typically done on cute little chicks with obviously DIY hobbles. Often times it’s made with medical tape and cardboard so it looks medical unlike with cattle hobbles. Hobbles are such an important part of animal welfare to prevent broken and deformed body parts which prevents an animal from being put down.
So important! Cows are not flexible creatures, if they fall (which they do sometimes) they can be hurt badly sometimes to the point that they’re permanently lame. Cow hobbles help them stay upright when cows’ hips are weak. They don’t impede mobility, they aid it.
“Okay but why do we even have weak cows in the first place, what are you doing to them” – a strawman “misinformed animal rights”-type person I made up just to ask the question for me, because now I’m curious and would like to have an answer ready in case someone asks me that in the off-chance this subject ever comes up 😮
Often when we use hobbles it’s usually because the cow hurt herself somehow – they can slip and fall if they’re not careful or if they get too excited. Sometimes injuries just happen. Also, sometimes after calving cows, especially older ones, can be weak and appreciate the extra support.
Cows are often hypocalcaemic and hypomagnesaemic after calving, which makes it hard for them to stand. Because of this they can slip around, or “go down” (get stuck lying down) for long periods. This causes further damage that exacerbates the problem, such as muscle death and nerve damage. It’s often this nerve damage that necessitates use of hobbles, because the nerve that makes their legs stay under their body (the obturator nerve FYI) doesn’t work. We tie the legs together under their body because they literally cannot hold them there themselves.
Why is it so important that the cow isn’t lying down? Cows aren’t well built for lounging around. It hurts their muscles and nerves (think cramp or pins and needles from sitting in one place too long but waayyyy worse). If they’re on their sides, they also can’t burp, so their stomach fills up with gas and compresses their lungs, which kills them very quickly.
So yeah, hobbles are definitely not a punishment, they can be life saving!
Wide Spread Interests 