Khurana 1

Suraj Khurana
Professor McClure
Writing 39C
19 July 2015
Emotions in Factory Cows
Historically, assessing emotions and consciousness in nonhuman animals has proven to
be an extremely complex debate. Challenging enough to obscure the study on animal welfare,
and ambiguous enough to measure only surface of animal sentience. Now, with major advances
in cognitive science and comparative psychology, the study on animal sentience has become
much more feasible to evaluate. This literature review will examine various examples and studies
on the emotions of factory cows. I will start by depicting how cows respond to stimuli, which
will serve as evidence of their emotional state of mind. The next section will scrutinize how their
physiological body helps determine their underlying emotions. Rene Descartess quote, Animal
are like robots, they cannot reason or feel pain, socially constructed his generation towards
animal prejudice; however, after Darwins book, The Expression of Emotions in Man and
Animals, animal sentience gained a new perspective. The emotional lives of theses cows are hard
to measure but it's essential to the welfare of these animals. The purpose of this review is to
provide examples of cow behavior to confirm the deposition that nonhuman animals experience
such emotions as joy, fear, love, despair, and grief. However, before moving onto the review, I
shadow the definition of emotion conveyed by Marc Bekoff, professor of ecology and
evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado. Emotion is a psychological experience that
helps comprehend behavioral management and control (Bekoff 863). Because this complexity of
this definition has been disputed about for many years, knowledge in learning about animal

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sentience has shown no progress and a lack of significance. Bekoff categorizes emotions into two
categories: primary and secondary. Primary emotions can be expressed as innate fear and the
flight-or-flight response to stimuli; whereas, secondary emotions are those that are felt, assessed,
and reflected on (Bekoff 863). When considering nonhuman emotions, one must take into
consideration that no single philosophy captures the intricate experience of emotions.
In a study conducted by Cecile Bourguet, a scholar in animals welfare, stress, and
emotions, research shows that cows are responsive to the slaughter procedure conducted in
factory farms and develop stress during this procedure (Bourguet 10). Cows may appear as
superficially oblivious to the world which is why many people categorize them as a monotonous
animal; however, the emotional state of cows can be determined by the way they carry
themselves (Bekoff 866). There is no doubt that fear enhances stress in humans, and stress has an
emotional dimension. Cheney quotes, Even though they may not be aware of the responses, the
responses are adaptive (Kluger 55). In this experiment, cows were examined while they
watched the pre-slaughter of other animals. Results showed the correlation between post mortem
muscle metabolism and emotional stress reaction as an indicator to increase heart rate during the
response (Bourguet 12). When describing the primary emotion, Bekoff stated, Loud raucous
sounds, certain odors lead to inborn avoidance reaction to all such stimuli that indicate danger
(Bekoff 865). Bourguet observed that not only was the heart rate high, but cows were starting to
show signs of uncomfortable movement such as looking down at the ground (Bourguet 13). To
better understand animal welfare, Janice Seigford, professor at the Michigan State University,
observed that animal valence such as withdrawal from indifferent stimuli and engagement to
positive stimuli can be used to measure emotional demeanor (Siegford 301). Their fear, pain,
anxiety, and depression can be associated with physical and emotional stress (Bourguet 18). After

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being restrained in the pre-stun pen, the observation on cows behavioral responses such as
struggling, vocalizing, and defecating showed that stress initiated negative emotions in cows
(Bourguet 20).
The second method to describe the characteristics of emotions is from both calf
separation from cows and social separation of cows. Grief is the secondary emotion in cows that
when triggered can be long lasting (Bekoff 863). Now animals are social creatures just like
humans, and at one point they experience the end of sorrow just like we do, yet nobody claims
grief in animals to be as complex as in humans (Kluger 59). Studying how cows display grief can
be hard to detect visibly since their minds, like us humans, are private entities, but studying their
assessment of comfort has helped Rolnei Daros in his research to study the emotional grief of
cows during weaning, a process where the cow is separated from her calf at birth. Results show
that weaning was psychologically and nutritionally a traumatic time on both cows and the calf
(Rolnei 4). Not only did the cows face grief and mourning when separated from their calves, but
also characterized pessimistic judgment. Studies showed that cows inherit the ability to
understand cause and effect; in fact, after their calves were taken away, cows were shown to
walk for many miles in order to find them (Rolnei 5). The Face On Your Plate by Jeffrey Masson
recognizes that separating the calf from its mother is the single worst event in the life of a cow,
and after American professor of animal science, Temple Grandin, observed a cow looking
impatiently for her calf she quoted, Thats one sad, unhappy cow, upset cow. Its like grieving,
mourningnot much written about (Hartle 3). In another experiment Roger Muller and Lars
Schrader explores the long-term effects of reaction towards social separation in cow (Muller and
Schrader 1296). Behavioral responses to social separation such as walking, vocalization,
defecation, urination, and exploration showed that social isolation was a very effective stressor in

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cows. These traits not only lasted a long time, but also ascribed the personality of cows as
negative emotions affecting the cognitive component of attention and memory (Muller and
Schrader 1301.
A recent study directed by Helen Proctor Gemma Carder proves that a cows physical
posture can express its emotional valence. The emotional and scientific assessment of cows are
often doubted and questioned, but Carders review helps disprove this social construction. This
research is conducted to endorse positive emotional states in animal; we must know what
animals feel in order to stimulate positive emotions in animals. In this study, Carder explores
whether types of ear posture can be used to express the positive emotional state of cows. Thirteen
random cows out of ninety-two were chosen for a fifteen minute focal observation. Each ear
posture was characterized into four unique categories: upright, forward, backwards, and down
(Proctor and Carder 23). Results showed that backward and down postured ears reflected a
positive stimulus during the stroking stimulus. Upright and forwards postures were less observed
during the positive experience (Proctor and Carder 25). This study shows that ear postures can
provide a quick assessment of the emotional state in cows; however, a different stimuli could
help further substantiate these results. Because emotions in cows can be ephemeral, ear posture
provides an instantaneous approach of measuring short-lived as well as long-lasting emotions
(Proctor and Carder 26).
Changes in facial expression in cows have emerged as a leading way to study the
emotional well being of these animals. Throughout history, cognitive ethology has played an
important role, but sometimes the simplest way to conduct research is the best way. Analyzing a
cows anatomical structure such as their eyes and ears helps demonstration variety of emotional
states (Siegford 308). Helen Proctor, an animal sentience researcher, conducted numerous studies

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using stimuli to activate the system. Three groups of cows were separated into a control group,
fed cows, or food-frustrated cows which were then observed after six minutes. Proctor found that
the mere visibility of food showed a quick decrease in eye whites and vice versa for the other
cows. Changes in posture and behavior helped indicate emotional responses in certain cows more
than others (Proctor and Carder 2). Along with eye size, excessive tongue rolling, head shaking,
vocalizations, and aggressive behavior amongst food-frustrated cows helped Proctor determine
their frustration.
When rubbing a dog on its desired area it is obvious to say that these dogs enjoy it;
however, cows do not physiologically tend to display these expressions. Stroking cows
stimulated positive valence, which helped them reduce fear, heart rate, and cortisol levels. In this
next study, Proctor came up with a hypothesis that the percentage of visible eye whites is an
effective assessment of low arousal by using stroking as a positive stimulus. The line graph
below is from Helen Proctors article, Measuring positive emotions in cows: Do visible eye
whites tell us anything, evaluating Proctors results (Proctor and Carder 4). The line shows the
mean percentage of visible eye whites found in cows before, during, and after a positive stroking
stimulus was applied. Every five minutes cows would be stroked on their neck, forehead, and
cheeks at approximately 40-60 strokes per minute. Sniffing, leaning, licking, and rubbing the
stroker depicted a positive emotional state of mind; whereas, butting leaning into the stroker
depicted a negative, aggressive emotional state. After 372 focal observations, the percentages of
eye whites were observed. The line graph shows a variation between the stroking phases and
percentage of visible eye whites; however the results showed no distinction between the prestroking and post-stroking phase. This study illustrates cows arousal levels to vary from high to
low as well as emotions shifting from negative to positive, describing the stroking phase to emit

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a relaxed and calm sensation to cows (Proctor and Carder 6).
In conclusion, the study of animal sentience throughout history has not only progressed
as a scientific phenomenon, but has also helped mankind to recognize the emotional similarities
we share with nonhuman animals. These sources cited in this review advocate that cows share
emotional abilities. The ongoing study of animal valence willingly acknowledges that cows not
only have minds like us, but also emotionally convey themselves like us. My ultimate argument
is that if animals feel and express the same emotions as us, why do we apathetically mistreat

them? Welfare assessment has been the core of animal welfare debates, and has instigated the
proper treatment of animals. Fear, pain, grief, mourning, and frustration have significantly
impacted the lives of cows by affecting their efficiency and productivity of milk harvesting. In
order to improve their welfare, understanding animal sentience is crucial to provide a positive
change for them. Some people see animals as companions and a piece of nature; whereas, other
see them in terms of their monetary value. These sentient beings to such people are not
emotional, living animals but mere commodities. To classify animals to this ambiguous
perspective is simpler for these people but their ability to suffer or experience positive emotions
like us is far less conducive. By bearing in mind the treatment of animals we farm for food, these

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perspectives dominate over animal sentience and confirm to be far more important.

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Work Cited
Bourguet, Ccile, et al. "Characterising The Emotional Reactivity Of Cows To Understand And
Predict Their Stress Reactions To The Slaughter Procedure." Applied Animal Behaviour
Science 125.1/2 (2010): 9-21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 July 2015.
Proctor, Helen S., and Gemma Carder. "Measuring Positive Emotions In Cows: Do Visible Eye
Whites Tell Us Anything?." Physiology & Behavior 147.(2015): 1-6. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 19 July 2015.
Proctor, Helen S., and Gemma Carder. "Can Ear Postures Reliably Measure The Positive
Emotional State Of Cows?." Applied Animal Behaviour Science 161.(2014): 20-27.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 July 2015.
Siegford, Janice M. "Multidisciplinary Approaches And Assessment Techniques To Better
Understand And Enhance Zoo Nonhuman Animal Welfare." Journal Of Applied Animal
Welfare Science 16.4 (2013): 300-318. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 July 2015.
Bekoff, Marc. "Animal Emotions: Exploring Passionate Natures." Bioscience 50.10 (2000): 861.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 July 2015.
Mller, Roger, and Lars Schrader. "Behavioural Consistency During Social Separation And
Personality In Dairy Cows." Behaviour 142.9/10 (2005): 1295-1312. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 19 July 2015.
Kluger, Jeffrey. The Animal Mind: Mourning. Times Books (2014). Web. 10 July 2015.
Daros, Rolnei R., et al. "Separation From The Dam Causes Negative Judgement Bias In Dairy
Calves." Plos ONE 9.5 (2014): 1-5. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 July 2015.
Hartle, Diane. "The Face On Your Plate: The Truth About Food." Library Journal 134.5 (2009):
118. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 July 2015.