Originally from: Burkie
                        
Dear Jane: Here's a commercial website where anyone can obtain the "Tools of the Trade," so to speak, for tools and supplies to help aid most world-wide producers to use to maintain the health of their livestock.

I've sent the addy for one page, but you can also go to the homepage to find more, broken-down by species use.

http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/swine/hogholders.html?L+scstore+kflw7377ff54b354+1068634261

For the uninformed, it's hard to control a large hog to draw blood. Hog holders are commonly used. It's about the only way to catch a sow or boar to work on them, without putting them in a chute or headstock.

Then ...on other pages are tattoo machines...used to apply numbers to the ears of different species.

Ear tagging tool pierce an animal's ears, so that a tool may be inserted through the hole, to fasten ear tags to identify an animal like a sheep, a pig, or a cow or calf.

This equipment is mandated for use in the U.K.

There are others....which cause any animal pain as they are most normally used without sedation.

Just go to the homepage and have a "stroll"...not that much different than tools used in medieval torture chambers on humans.

All are commonly used and many have to be to insure both the safety of the animal and the person administrating drugs, vaccines, veterinary treatment to benefit the animal's health.

And that's the Truth.

Burkie in Kansas