Posted on 02/28/2005 8:03:26 AM PST by yankeedame
Cows hold grudges, say scientists
By Jonathan Leake
February 28, 2005
ONCE they were a byword for mindless docility. But cows have a complex mental life in which they bear grudges, nurture friendships and become excited by intellectual challenges, researchers have found.
Cows are capable of strong emotions such as pain, fear and even anxiety about the future. But if farmers provide the right conditions, they can also feel great happiness.
The findings have emerged from studies of farm animals that have found similar traits in pigs, goats and chickens. They suggest such animals may be so emotionally similar to humans that welfare laws need to be reconsidered.
The research will be presented to a conference in London next month sponsored by animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming.
Christine Nicol, professor of animal welfare at Britain's Bristol University, said even chickens might have to be treated as individuals with needs and problems.
"Remarkable cognitive abilities and cultural innovations have been revealed," she said. "Our challenge is to teach others that every animal we intend to eat or use is a complex individual, and to adjust our farming culture accordingly."
Her colleague John Webster added: "People have assumed intelligence is linked to the ability to suffer, and that because animals have smaller brains they suffer less than humans. That is a pathetic piece of logic."
The Bristol researchers have documented how cows within a herd form friendship groups of between two and four animals with whom they spend most of their time, often grooming and licking each other. They will also dislike other cows, and can bear grudges for months or years.
Donald Broom, professor of animal welfare at Cambridge University, will tell the conference how cows can become excited by solving intellectual challenges.
In one study, researchers challenged the animals with a task where they had to find how to open a door to get some food. An electroencephalograph was used to measure their brainwaves.
"The brainwaves showed their excitement; their heartbeat went up and some even jumped into the air. We called it their Eureka moment," Professor Broom said.
The assumption that farm animals cannot suffer from conditions that would be intolerable for humans is partly based on the idea they have no sense of self. Latest research suggests this is untrue.
"Sentient animals have the capacity to experience pleasure and are motivated to seek it," Professor Webster said.
"You only have to watch how cows and lambs both seek and enjoy pleasure when they lie with their heads raised to the sun on a perfect English summer's day. Just like humans."
They are women, after all; so this is a surprise?
--not quite as famous as Paul Bunyan, but just as true--
Umm, cows, by definition, have no "snutzs" to cut off. But, I'm fairly certain that bulls and, especially steer, hold grudges, too...
Not sure about that, but Carnation always claimed their milk came from contented cows.
Guess cow tippers have something else to worry about now.....
If they ate the cows, where would they get the milk to feed the temple rats?
Yeah, that's my full screen name-- green "smarty pants" pastures. But it gets a little long...
Always thought it was Polled Herefords, and those would be the Herefords that voted in November, who were directly responsible for throwing off the exit polls.
Of course, when these Herefords get stuck in traffic, they're unable to honk their respective horns as they have none.
(Careful enough?)
;-)
Hadn't considered that.
Saw a guy who was on Fox (yesterday I think) who had written a book about the worst jobs you could have.
Somewhere in the top 50 was Rat Catcher In India.
What a career! For 25 rats, you too could be paid a bounty of one British Pound.
The author did NOT mention if the Rat Catcher gets to consume his victims.
Larry Lucido wrote:
So, what do you have to do to piss off a llama? Make a comment about his neck?
Your on a roll today.
Spoken like a true creationist. You assume God is necessary for the creation of BBQ sauce. I say man did it.
Man made barbecue sauce. Man invented barbecue, too! We didn't need some old guy floating in the sky to figure out how to slow-roast a pig. Think about it, and free your mind. </parody>
I like my grudge rare.
In an effort to quell the obvious cries from PETA, the supreme court should immediately rule that 'since it would be too difficult to criminalize people eating cows, in an effort to show fairness, it is legal for cows, in turn, to eat people.' They may purchase land in in order to herd the people, and contract out with any fast food chain to sell their product. Since they're so smart, they shouldn't have any trouble starting such a bold venture. It is also illegal for anyone to show outward bias or racist behavior against the cows since they are the newest minority group and protected under the civil rights amendments. They are also now eligible for welfare and other forms of government assistance as well as Socialist Security. This will of course add a new burden to the system thus accentuating the need for reforms in the system. "Cow" and "Heiffer" are now considered to be racial slurs and politically incorrect. They shall now be referred to as "uddered-Americans" or "Bovine-American."
sorry, I kind of went off there.
I don't know about emotions, but they certainly have intraspecies relationships--"pecking order"!
I had a pet chicken when I was young. My mom was kind enough to leave her out of the stew pot even when she didn't lay many eggs, but some critter got her eventually. I do remember the lesson of my mother explaining gently that she was "just a chicken" when the hen pecked me once and I couldn't figure out why.
I can say scrub chickens are a lot smarter than the incubator-raised breeds.
P'haps.
(copping Noo Yawk attitude and accent) But whadda dey gonna do abouddit, hah???
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