Switzerland: According to the FSVO report, dehorning of goats in the goat pen is not necessary

On 9 December 2024, the FSVO published a field report based on a survey conducted by the FSVO of 45 goat (dairy) farmers throughout Switzerland.

The report shows that there is no need for dehorning, even in larger herds.
The report shows that although there is a small risk of injury (injury to the udders by another goat's horn), this can be kept to a very low level and limited to very minor to no injuries.

According to the FSVO's report, the key to minimising injuries is not dehorning, but rather other success factors, which can essentially be categorised as ‘housing conditions’ and ‘how the animal keeper treats his animals and how he looks after them’. The following factors can be cited as examples:

- no dead ends, no acute angles, no bottlenecks, sufficient escape routes, generous space, natural, species-appropriate keeping, lots of access to the outdoors
- Positive attitude towards the animal, constant observation of the animals, alert eye for problems, calm handling of the goats, no use of dogs, knowledge of which animals go together, no reallocation if possible, stable groups, no separation of individual animals, acceptance that these are labour-intensive animals, patience in handling, enable calm in the stable

This could lead to the positive aspects of retaining the horn, such as:

- important sign of the hierarchy of goats among each other in the herd
- important tool for goats for communication and social behaviour within the herd
- facilitates enforcement of the ranking relationships
- prevents injuries in regular fights
- use of the horns for grooming
- for defence
- as a tool when eating shrubs, tree bark
- for marking, for heat regulation, etc.
- and from a human point of view: beauty, breed characteristics, advertising advantage for milk from ‘horned goats’, better milk yield from horned goats

while avoiding serious injuries.