Agribition: How cows get immunized

When you need to get immunized, you go to the doctor for a shot, cows get a much larger needle fired from a dart gun.

Graham McKenzie with Target Cattle Company is selling remote drug delivery systems at Agribition.

He’s been selling the dart guns for seven years but said the technology first rolled out about 50 years ago in Pennsylvania.

McKenzie said farmers tell him it’s the best management tool they have on the farm. The dart guns cause less stress on the livestock and the farmer.

“Generally, you have to round them up (livestock) in your pasture and corral them or else rope them from a horse. This way you can just drive out there and shoot them with a dart and you’re done,” said McKenzie.

Livestock is mainly treated for foot rot, pink eye and pneumonia, according to McKenzie

“It’s zero stress on them because they don’t know what’s happening. When they get darted they’ll feel a sting and they might jump around a bit but if you got to rope them and stretch them out you might hurt them doing that before you even treat them,” he said.

While most of his customers use the dart guns on cattle McKenzie said he also sells a lot to wildlife officers.

“If you see moose get into the city, this is what they’ll be using to (tranquillize) them,” said McKenzie.

He also sold darts to a beluga whale researcher to take tissue samples for DNA testing.

McKenzie said he did have an unexpected customer in the past.

“We sold one once for vampires,” said McKenzie. “They were making a movie about vampires and they needed a gun for it.”

McKenzie said the movie was being filmed in Toronto about four or five years ago but couldn’t remember which movie it was for.