Cows emit a lot of greenhouse gases through their bodily excretions. Given the scale of the industrial animal husbandry of cattle, these excretions create substantial environmental hazards. Researchers in Germany and New Zealand recently published a journal article about a partial solution that they have developed: toilets for cows.
Seriously, Science? explains that the invention is called the MooLoo. It’s a trench that receives bovine urine. The researchers were able to train several cows to use it with a reward and punishment system which consisted of barley mixed with molasses when the cows used the toilet and sprays of water when they did not. The team says that cows have the potty training capacity of young children, so they see a practical future for this technology.
Photo: Research Institute of Farm Animal Biology