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A cattle prod, also called a stock prod, is a handheld device commonly used to make cattle or other livestock move by striking or poking them. An electric cattle prod is a stick with electrodes on the end which is used to make cattle move through a relatively high-voltage, low-current electric shock The electric cattle prod is said to have been invented by Texas cattle baron Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. of the King Ranch around 1930, although versions were sold as early as 1917.
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Terminology differences
Ranchers and farmers typically use the term "cattle prods" mainly to refer to simple non-electrified fiberglass or metal goads used to physically encourage cattle into motion; the majority of people living outside of rural areas use the term 'cattle prod' exclusively for the electrified variant. Most ranchers and farmers refer to electric cattle prods as "hotshots" (this is an example of a genericized trademark; one of the most prominent brands of electric prod is Hot-Shot).
In an electric cattle prod, which is the precursor to the modern day stun gun, dual surface electrodes produce a very high voltage/very low amperage electric arc between them, which, when pressed against conductive skin, produces a painful but superficial electric shock which stimulates the target to cease their current activity and move in the direction opposite the source of the pain. With higher amperage, the cattle prod is the equivalent of a stun gun and functions exactly the same way. Cattle prods are the precursor to direct contact electric stun guns used against humans, and their basic operating principles are the same: The major differences are primarily in the matter of size and power: cattle prods tend to have a higher electric current and a longer handle than stun guns, which is helpful when dealing with very large, powerful animals or humans as a torture device.
Regular prods
Regular cattle prods can actually be anything from a baton (goad) or piece of pipe properly wired, to a manufactured fiberglass rod with a rubber handle or even a rectangular-shaped device similar to today's stun guns, which also feature batons. Most prods use two metal tips, but some are rubberized for herding stubborn animals. A Wiffleball bat is also often used as an effective prod because the hollow plastic bat makes a sharp ringing sound when slapped against the skin.
Unlike hotshots, which produce high voltage and can be effective on humans, regular cattle prods used on animals are simply used to tap, strike, or poke an animal (usually on the flanks), depending on how stubborn the animal is. Sometimes, a prod can be used as a sort of "extended fence", allowing one to simply intimidate skittish animals away from open gates or downed fences without having to touch them.
Electric prods
A hotshot is typically cylindrical, and can carry an open electric current at the "shock end" when activated. The electric current at the shock end runs through two metal electrodes. Anything that touches the electric current receives a high-voltage low-current shock, not strong enough to kill a human or a large animal such as a cow or sheep from short-term exposure, but strong enough to cause significant pain.
The electric cattle prod is designed to apply a painful shock to cattle, and thus "prod" them along; the pain stimulates movement. Some higher-voltage prods can interfere with radio and CB radio reception when activated.
There are various designs of electric cattle prods. Their shape is often subject to guidelines of what can easily be used and handled. They range in length from six inches (usually of a more encased rectangular prism design like a stun gun), to up to six feet. As the precursor of stun guns, cattle prods also have a wide range of voltage with enough amperage to operate in the same manner as a stun gun does against humans. A stun gun is nothing more than a beefed up cattle prod and both can be used on humans or animals by design. Whether it is called a cattle prod or a stun gun, both units are shaped for easy carry and function in the same manner against animals or humans. Most are simple designs powered by 9-volt or a combination of other types of batteries. Anything out of that range is usually too heavy and unwieldy for practical use. Another typical design is a box containing a large battery (or battery pack) at the handle end and wires embedded in a fibreglass rod, ending with two electrodes in a rubber tip. This design is well-suited for use as a regular cattle prod.
The use of electric cattle prods has been debated by many people. Organizations such as PETA contend that the use of cattle prods is as much mentally harmful as it is physically. Most farmers contend that the short shock is minutely felt, and soon forgotten.
Usage on people, policing, torture and treatment
Cattle prods today are designed with a high range of voltages and amperages. If more powerful prods are applied continuously to the skin, the current (amperage) eventually causes heating, searing, burning, and scarring of skin at the contact point. Electric prods have found favour with torturers.
Prior to the development of stun batons and the taser, electric cattle prods were also used on people in varying degrees. Their first common usage on people occurred during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s; prods were first adopted by police officers in Alabama to use on black protesters and agencies elsewhere followed; Hotshot later developed an electric police baton.
The picana is an electric prod based originally on the cattle prod but designed specifically for human torture. It works at very high voltage and low current (amperage) so as to maximize pain and minimize the physical marks left on the victim. Among its advantages over other torture devices is that it is portable, easy to use, and allows the torturer to localize the electric shocks to the most sensitive places on the body, where they cause intense pain that can be repeated many times.
Electric prods have been used for the control of adverse self-injuring behavior in mentally handicapped people. This use is regarded by some advocates to be more effective than drugs since the experience of a shock is very short and temporary while using a drug may have long-lasting sedative effects.
On August 14, 2013 in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, Mendel Epstein told two undercover FBI agents that he used a cattle prod to coerce Jewish husbands to grant religious divorces to their wives, leading the press to nickname him "The Prodfather." He was convicted of conspiring to kidnap, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Alternatives
Cattle can be difficult to move and direct for a variety of reasons. Prods can be useful for moving stubborn or aggressive animals, but often cattle will not move forward when they are fearful of something they see, hear, or smell. Removal of these distractions or hiding them, such as with solid wall partitions, can greatly reduce animal handling problems,; however, cattle handlers cannot completely overcome the animal's decision not to move forward. After a few years of inoculations, many cows often realize that, if they can avoid certain areas, they will not get inoculated or treated.
By studying the psychology of the animals and redesigning the working environment it is possible to handle the animals without the need for brute force and causing pain and suffering to the animal in many, but not all, cases. Significant work in this regard has been done by Colorado State University professor Temple Grandin to study how cattle perceive the environment around them and to design better livestock slaughterhouse handling systems that do not induce fear into the animal.
In popular culture
In Fargo, a television crime series based on the film of the same name, a cattle prod is used on numerous occasions as a weapon against humans in season 2.