Comments on: Tons Of Celebrities Sign Letter To End Tail Docking In California

By: Kirsten Lioba

Kirsten Lioba — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:45:04 +0000

I’m all for the ban, but the publicity revolving around it shouldn’t cast a bad light on any conscientious farmers out there who disagree with the process in the first place. If tail docking is indeed out of practice, that’s great, and the public should know about it.

By: Dave Miller

Dave Miller — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 03:41:33 +0000

I am a crop farmer from Iowa. I had a dairy farm in Indiana in the 1970s. So celebrities who neither know how to raise food or care for animals are thought to be credible sources of information. That would be a bad joke, if it wasn’t so sad. Animal agriculture is not bad for the earth, and food products from animals are an essential part of the food solutions for the planet.

I do not defend the practice of tail docking and when I was a dairy farmer I did not dock the tails of my cows, but I at least know from whence I speak, whereas the celebrity letter signers do not. They should stick to movies.

By: Dairydino

Dairydino — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:39:40 +0000

I am a California dairy farmer and I support the bill. Tail docking is a practice that was experimented with 10 years ago or so to see if there would be a benefit to milk quality. It was soon discovered there was no advantage to the dairy farmer, the cow, or the milk so the practice soon ended.

This bill simply bans a practice that is pretty much not a practice at all. One thing people need to realize is that a dairy farmer’s livelihood is dependent on the cows. If the cow is not happy, healthy, well fed, and clean, she won’t produce milk. We have many reasons to treat our animals with the utmost care.

I would bet we treat our cows as well or better than most of these “celebrities” treat their pets. One thing is for sure, we treat our animal better than these “celebrities” treat the hard working families that produce their food.

By: Philip

Philip — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:40:14 +0000

Tail docking is an archaic practice that has been denounced by all the major dairy organizations in California. It should be banned, but the practice is neither widespread or approved by most dairymen.

By: VeggieTart

VeggieTart — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:32:13 +0000

I’d rather see the dairy industry END, but this is a good start.

And Bill Maher has been very critical of the culture of cows’ milk consumption on his show.