Survey of Tail Docking Practices in California Dairies
Adapted by Noelia Silva-del-Río, UCCE Tulare County; and Pete Kistler, DVM; and Betsy Karle, UCCE Glenn County
A survey of tail docking practices in California dairies was conducted in February 2009. Twelve large animal veterinarians were surveyed regarding the tail docking practices of their dairy clientele. The data set contained information from 171 dairies located in Tulare (n=91), Kings (n=15), Kern (n=4), Fresno (n=1), Butte (n=2), Glenn (n=44) and Tehama (n=14) Counties. The average herd size was 1,742 cows and ranged from 25 to 12,000 cows. Fourteen dairies currently dock tails and six dairies previously docked tails but abandoned the practice within the last year. Results from this survey are presented in Table 1. A total of 90.6% (n=171) of the dairies do not dock tails and 88.7% (n=294,339) of the cows are in dairy operations where tail docking is not practiced. Survey results suggest tail docking is an uncommon and diminishing practice in California.
Table 1. Current tail docking practices in California as a percentage of
cows and as a percentage of herds.
| Cows | Herds | |||
| Northern Sacramento Valley | 6.8% | (n=25, 737) | 3.3% | (n=60) |
| San Joaquin Valley | 11.7% | (n=268, 602) | 10.8% | (n=111) |
| Total | 11.3% | (n=294, 339) | 9.4% | (n=171) |