Researcher: Cattle Can Be Trained to Use the Bathroom
2021-09-19
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A small scientific study suggests that cattle can be trained to leave their waste in special areas.
2The goal of the research was to reduce the bad environmental effects of cattle.
3In the recent study, scientists trained 11 out of 16 young cattle to use the "MooLoo" - a kind of bathroom for cattle.
4The researchers used a sweet treat to get the cows to push through a door and urinate in the special area.
5It took only 15 days to train the young cattle.
6"The cows are at least as good as children, age 2 to 4 years, at least as quick," said Lindsay Matthews of New Zealand's University of Auckland.
7Matthews was the lead writer of the study that appeared recently in Current Biology.
8He worked with other researchers on the tests at an indoor animal research laboratory in Germany.
9Urine contains nitrogen. When mixed with solid waste, it becomes ammonia.
10The chemical can play a part in environmental problems such as acid rain, Matthews said.
11It can also pollute water with nitrates and create the pollutant nitrous oxide, he said.
12Cattle urinate a lot. A single cow can produce about 30 liters of urine a day, Matthews said.
13In 2019, nitrous oxide made up seven percent of all the U.S. greenhouse gases, the Environmental Protection Agency reports.
14Scientist Brian Hare of Duke University was not part of the research but said he was not surprised by the findings.
15"I am surprised no one has demonstrated this before," Hare said.
16"The critical question is can it and will it scale?"
17Scale means to do something more often or in larger amounts.
18If it could be done, training animals would make it easier to deal with waste products and reduce greenhouse gasses, said Donald Broom.
19He is a professor of animal welfare at the University of Cambridge in England.
20At the laboratory in Dummerstorf, Germany, the researchers put the cattle in the special area, waited until they urinated and then gave them a treat: a sweet liquid of mostly molasses.
21Cows like sweets, Matthews said.
22If the cows urinated outside the MooLoo after the training, they got a shot of cold water.
23Two issues raise questions about the study.
24Researchers gave drugs to the cattle to get them to urinate more because they had limited time.
25And researchers only trained cows to use the MooLoo to urinate, not to leave solid waste.
26Urine is a bigger problem, at least in Europe, Matthews said.
27But he predicted the researchers could train cows to leave solid waste too.
28The biggest environmental problem for cattle, though, is the heat-trapping gas methane.
29Cows release the gas that scientists say causes global warming.
30The cows cannot be trained to not release such a gas, Matthews said: "They would blow up."
31I'm John Russell.
1A small scientific study suggests that cattle can be trained to leave their waste in special areas. 2The goal of the research was to reduce the bad environmental effects of cattle. 3In the recent study, scientists trained 11 out of 16 young cattle to use the "MooLoo" - a kind of bathroom for cattle. 4The researchers used a sweet treat to get the cows to push through a door and urinate in the special area. It took only 15 days to train the young cattle. 5"The cows are at least as good as children, age 2 to 4 years, at least as quick," said Lindsay Matthews of New Zealand's University of Auckland. 6Matthews was the lead writer of the study that appeared recently in Current Biology. He worked with other researchers on the tests at an indoor animal research laboratory in Germany. 7Urine contains nitrogen. When mixed with solid waste, it becomes ammonia. The chemical can play a part in environmental problems such as acid rain, Matthews said. It can also pollute water with nitrates and create the pollutant nitrous oxide, he said. 8Cattle urinate a lot. A single cow can produce about 30 liters of urine a day, Matthews said. In 2019, nitrous oxide made up seven percent of all the U.S. greenhouse gases, the Environmental Protection Agency reports. 9Scientist Brian Hare of Duke University was not part of the research but said he was not surprised by the findings. 10"I am surprised no one has demonstrated this before," Hare said. "The critical question is can it and will it scale?" 11Scale means to do something more often or in larger amounts. 12If it could be done, training animals would make it easier to deal with waste products and reduce greenhouse gasses, said Donald Broom. He is a professor of animal welfare at the University of Cambridge in England. 13At the laboratory in Dummerstorf, Germany, the researchers put the cattle in the special area, waited until they urinated and then gave them a treat: a sweet liquid of mostly molasses. Cows like sweets, Matthews said. If the cows urinated outside the MooLoo after the training, they got a shot of cold water. 14Two issues raise questions about the study. 15Researchers gave drugs to the cattle to get them to urinate more because they had limited time. And researchers only trained cows to use the MooLoo to urinate, not to leave solid waste. 16Urine is a bigger problem, at least in Europe, Matthews said. But he predicted the researchers could train cows to leave solid waste too. 17The biggest environmental problem for cattle, though, is the heat-trapping gas methane. Cows release the gas that scientists say causes global warming. 18The cows cannot be trained to not release such a gas, Matthews said: "They would blow up." 19I'm John Russell. 20Seth Borenstein reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 21________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23treat -n. something that tastes good and is not often eaten 24urinate - v. (medical) to send urine (liquid waste) out of the body 25critical - adj. extremely important