Happy Cows

My father always bemoaned the fact that when he was an apprentice farmer just after WW2, before my mother dragged him to Africa, and a life of serving the empire, that his cows all had names, whereas "the poor bloody animals these days" just had numbers. I always tended to agree with him, but was aware that this was part of my inate anthropomorphism rather than as a result of any scientific reasoning.

Now, however, it turns out that some scientists agree with him. According to the BBC website today:

"Happy cows produce more milk, according to researchers at Newcastle University.
Cattle that are named and treated with a "more personal touch" can increase milk yields by up to 500 pints a year. The study, by the university's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, involved 516 farmers across the UK. Published in the journal Anthrozoos, the study found farmers who named their cows gained a higher yield than the 54% that did not give their cattle names. "

Read the rest of the story HERE

However the story raises at least one social/ethical issue, and also an exciting possibility for those of us who are engaged in conservation work.

The first issue is that whatever you call the poor bloody animals, they will still be sent for slaughter when their period of economic usefullness is over. I have no intention of straying into PETA territory here, but much of the way that we treat animals is morally dubious at best, and there is something particularly grotesque about sending an animal called "Bluebell", with whom you have built up some degree of a relationship to the abbatoir when she is no longer of use to you.

I once had a girlfriend who lived on a farm. Each year she would let her two young daughters adopt lambs as pets. They would come in the house, be cuddled, and generally be treated in the way that one would a dog or cat. But when their time came, "Lamby" would be sent off to the slaughter without a qualm.

No wonder both of the girls grew up with mental health problems!

I am sure that the results of the study are correct, but I think that it is time to have a serious look at how the farming industry works. I have no easy answers, and - to be quite honest - if Tim Matthews had not sent this news item to me, I would probably never have broached the subject on these pages, but it opened a few cans ofworms for me.

On a related subject, however, one wonders whether a similar approach would make the breeding of some endangered species more viable.....