WISCONSINS STALE CALF ISSUE AND A STUDY DESIGNED TO RESOLVE SOME OF THE ANIMAL-WELFARE CONCERNS

A unique law (Act 201) requiring livestock markets to place an identif ying mark on calves up to 90 kg each time they are sold went into effe ct in Wisconsin in 1993. The intent of the law is to reduce the number of times calves are resold and hence become ''stale.'' The original p roponents of the law proposed that calves be ear-notched each time the y are sold. Ear notching, however, was resisted by Wisconsin regulator y agencies partly because of fear of an adverse public reaction. These authors then conducted a study to determine the approximate amount of discomfort experienced by young Holstein calves during ear notching. Six 2-mo-old Holstein calves were used to determine heart rate and beh avioral responses to a standard ''V'' pig ear notcher (6 mm wide x 14 mm deep) applied between the tip and halfway down the dorsal edge of t he left ear. Five other calves were given 30 s of access to a rubber n ipple to provide a comparison to a desirable stimulus. Ear notching on ly elicited a mild startle response that lasted 1 to 2 s followed by r esumption of normal behavior. The calves presented with the nipple suc kled or butted the nipple for the full 30 s. The mean heart rate for t he 30-s period in which treatments occurred was 95 +/- 4.8 bpm and 110 +/- 5.8 bpm for the notched and suckled calves, respectively, and was not influenced by treatments (P = .50). The momentary discomfort expe rienced by the calves during notching seems to be negligible compared with the possible benefits of reducing the number of times calves are resold. Although these results were presented at hearings on the ''rul es'' that would be adopted in Wisconsin to implement the Stale Calf Le gislation, the decision was made to use only glue-on back tags to trac k calves. The law has lost credibility and the support of even its ori ginal sponsors, the Wisconsin vealers, because of the ease with which glued-on tags can be altered. Because this well-intended legislation i s inefficacious under the present rules, the law is likely to be repea led if the rules are not modified.