Ryan Gosling Teams Up With PETA to Fight Cruelty to Cows

"There is absolutely no reason—and no excuse—for the cruel, unnecessary practice of dehorning to continue," the actor says in a written letter

By Bruna Nessif Apr 04, 2013 2:17 AMTags
Ryan GoslingStephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Got milk Ryan Gosling?

In case fans needed yet another reason to swoon over the Hollywood heartthrob, check this out—he loves the animals and is willing to speak out to try to save them from facing any cruelty. And in this case, Gosling is trying to save the cows. Well, their horns, anyway.

The Place Beyond the Pines actor wrote a letter on PETA's behalf to the National Milk Producers Federation urging officials to require dairy farmers to begin phasing out "dehorning"—a painful process in which calves have their horns gouged out or sensitive horn tissue burned out of their heads.

"Dehorning is one of the most painful things done to cows on dairy farms, whether it is by burning a calf with a searing hot iron or applying caustic paste to create a chemical burn that eats away at the animal's flesh," Gosling wrote in the letter, which was obtained by E! News. "There is absolutely no reason—and no excuse—for the cruel, unnecessary practice of dehorning to continue."

According to a statement from PETA, workers use sharp tools—including saws, sharp wires, or gruesome guillotine dehorners—to cut the horns out of a restrained calf's skull. The young animals bellow in pain, thrash, and even collapse to the ground.

"I respectfully urge the National Milk Producers Federation to take the lead in stopping this barbaric practice by requiring farmers to phase out dehorning by breeding for polled, or naturally hornless, cattle," the celeb wrote.

Eva Mendes must be so proud.