Is there vertical social transmission of the animal-human relationship between calves and their foster cows?
Amann M, Waiblinger S, Lidfors L, Janicka K, Rademann A
Animal Welfare
Understanding how farm animals learn trust toward humans affects animal welfare standards — which in turn influences how livestock are raised and how that shapes the food on your plate.
Researchers wondered if young calves could pick up a relaxed attitude toward people by watching their foster mothers being gently petted and talked to. After weeks of observation, the calves showed no measurable difference in how comfortable they were around humans compared to calves who only heard a person talking nearby. The key problem was that the foster cows didn't seem to actually enjoy the petting, so there was nothing positive for the calves to learn from.
Key Findings
33 foster calves across 2 batches were tested; those who observed gentle human-cow interactions showed no reduction in avoidance distance compared to controls at 3 weeks or ~6 months of age.
Foster cows displayed very few behavioral signs of enjoyment (e.g., neck stretching, ear hanging) during gentle handling sessions, suggesting the intended positive emotional state was not achieved.
No significant treatment effect was found on calf approach behavior or avoidance distance in either familiar (home pen) or unfamiliar environments.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A study tested whether calves could learn to be comfortable around humans by watching their foster cows receive gentle handling. No such social transmission effect was found, likely because the cows themselves did not visibly enjoy the interactions.
Abstract Preview
Social transmission of the animal-human relationship from mother to offspring has been found in horses, but we do not know whether it exists in cattle or other farmed animals. Vertical social trans...
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