Unhappy Valley

If a researcher proposes a project in which he attempts
to study whether anesthesia or non-anesthesia plays a
role in growth after one's big toe is intentionally
amputated, would you respect his scientific approach
and methodology?

I pose the above question to offer an example of human
absurdity. In fact, this question is rhetorical in nature.
Chopping off a toe or finger or ear will produce
considerable pain for a few weeks and might even send
false pain signals to the brain for many years, but that
should not affect the growth rate of the entire body.
Instinctively, you've just got to suspect this to be true.

The August 10, 2007 issue of Hoard's Dairyman reports the
results of a torturous study performed at Penn State
University. Penn State? I love Penn State. Each weekend
during the fall semester I tune into Penn State football
games on my radio from my New Jersey home and listen to
Jo Pa's waning days of glory. These past two years have
been a fan's dream, with victories in two post-season bowl
games. Penn State. That wonderful and well respected
institution of higher learning which seems to have produced
20-million or so graduates. Ok, I exaggerate, but perception
merges into reality.

Page 520 of the August 20, 2007 issue of Hoards reports:

**********^^^^^^^^^^**********

"Calves given anesthesia before dehorning did not outperform
other calves in a study presented by researchers at Penn
State. A group of 90 Holstein calves between 6 and 8 weeks of
age were split into two groups. The first received 0.2 mg/kg
of xylazine intramuscular and a nerve block with 3 milliliters
of 2 percent lidocaine near each horn bud. The other group
did not receive any treatment. Dehorning was done with a hot
iron, about 35 seconds per horn bud.

Calf health was good throughout the study, and the mortality
rate was 0 percent. Average daily gain was about 2.2 pounds a
day. The study found no different in growth rates, calf health,
or inflammation between calves that received the sedative
and anesthesia and those that did not."

**********^^^^^^^^^^**********

The conclusion one reaches from this uncompassionate study
is that anesthesia is just a waste of money for dairyman.

For goodness sakes, farmers. These are baby cows with
feelings. The horns are richly innervated and you know
and I know that the calves cry out in pain for many
weeks after the fact. Many mother cows have reacted in
anger and killed farmers after such torture. This is well
documented. These are feeling and sentient beings, and
if you are going to cut off their horns, the very least
you can do in the name of compassion is offer all of these
gentle creatures some pain relief. One does not need a
scientific study to reveal their ability to suffer.

Shame on Penn State for allowing such torture to take
place. This is not science. This is a dairy program
run amok. This is a case of a dairy professor allowing a
graduate student to abuse animals. There should be
responsibility.

Hopefully, Penn State will see to it that no additional
unethical research of this sort ever occurs again. The
director of research at Penn State is Eva Pell, a plant
physiologist. Dr. Pell is also the Dean of Penn State's
graduate school. I have written a letter to her and have
sent a copy of that letter to the college newspaper.

Dr. Pell's contact information:

Eva J. Pell
Senior Vice President for Research, Dean of the Graduate School
304 Old Main
University Park, PA 16802-1504
phone 814-863-9580
fax 814-863-9659
ejp@...

Please be respectful and trust that Professor Pell has
the wisdom to see that such research shines a very powerful,
but ugly light upon Penn State's entire community which
calls itself "happy valley." For calves, it has been a
very painful and unhappy valley.

You might also consider sending an email to Penn State
University's award-winning daily newspaper. They enjoy
controversies, and just might publish your letter:

collegianletters@...

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...