Andersson Johanna, Beck-Friis Johan, Sarenbo Sirkku
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden.
Anim Welf. 2024 Jan 29;33:e4. doi: 10.1017/awf.2024.5. eCollection 2024.
Cattle and sheep horns have the potential to grow in such a way that the horn bends toward the animal's head and, if left untreated, may penetrate the skin, causing pressure, pain, and suffering. According to the Swedish Animal Welfare Act, animals must be looked after in a way that prevents ingrown horns; otherwise, the person responsible for the animal may be prosecuted. Here, we present a review of 32 legal cases that occurred in Sweden between 2008 and 2022 for which the charge involved horn-related anomalies in cattle or sheep. The aim being to investigate the nature of these horn-related anomalies and the circumstances under which they occur. Of the legal cases, 53% were discovered during official animal welfare control on farms and 44% at an abattoir during pre-slaughter inspection. These include extreme injuries, e.g. both horns penetrating the periosteum into the skull bone, or a horn penetrating into the eye or oral cavity. The reasons offered by the accused for failing to detect animals with horn-related anomalies included that the animal appeared normal, that it was long-haired, shy, or hard to reach, or that the horns had not undergone gradual growth but had accidentally or suddenly penetrated the skin. Overall, 81% of the cases led to convictions; however, none of these resulted in imprisonment. Reasons for acquittals included insufficient crime description or evidence as to how the horn-related anomaly occurred or of the animal being exposed to suffering. A number of recommendations are provided that could help limit the occurrence of ingrown horns.
角朝着动物头部弯曲，如果不加以治疗，可能会穿透皮肤，造成压迫、疼痛和痛苦。根据瑞典动物福利法，必须以防止角向内生长的方式照料动物；否则，动物的负责人可能会被起诉。在此，我们对2008年至2022年期间在瑞典发生的32起法律案件进行了综述，这些案件的指控涉及牛羊的角相关异常。目的是调查这些角相关异常的性质以及它们发生的情况。在这些法律案件中，53%是在农场官方动物福利检查期间发现的，44%是在屠宰前检查时在屠宰场发现的。这些包括极端伤害，例如两只角穿透骨膜进入颅骨，或者一只角穿透眼睛或口腔。被告提出的未发现有角相关异常动物的原因包括动物看起来正常、毛发长、害羞或难以接近，或者角不是逐渐生长而是意外或突然穿透皮肤。总体而言，81%的案件导致有罪判决；然而，这些案件均未导致监禁。无罪释放的原因包括犯罪描述不足或关于角相关异常如何发生或动物遭受痛苦的证据不足。提供了一些建议，有助于限制角向内生长的发生。
