Thousands of cattle are used for scientific purposes in Aotearoa every year. In fact, they have been one of the most commonly used animals in NZ science since 1989!

This sadly makes sense when you consider how widely they are exploited for their milk and their bodies.

The species of cattle is simplified to cows by many people. Actually, only the mothers are called cows:

• Heifers are female cattle before they become mothers.
• Calves are their babies.
• The males are referred to as bulls (or steers if castrated).

Animal agriculture:

Thousands of cattle are used in Aotearoa every year in research aimed at trying to sustain, enhance and make more money for the animal agriculture industry.

Examples include research into:

1. Decreasing their negative impact on the environment - a cow on its own won't create a huge impact but because we have bred so many cattle in NZ, their collective impact is huge!

• Cattle have been put in respiration chambers so the amount of methane they produce can be measured. Researchers have also glued urine sensors around their vulva to try and investigate ways of reducing the amount of nitrogen produced in their urine (methane and nitrogen can create negative impacts on the environment).

2. Increasing the survival rate of calves - not for the calves themselves but so the animal agriculture industry doesn't lose as much money.

3. Learning more about the fertility of cows (i.e., trying to improve artificial insemination and reduce the rest time in-between pregnancies for cows). Again, this research is not done for the cows themselves but so they be made pregnant as often as possible so that more money can be made from their exploitation.

4. Genetic modification to try and create more desirable traits in cattle (i.e., genetically modifying cows to change the properties of their milk).

5. Diseases that cattle on farms often get such as lameness, mastitis (a common infection of the udder in dairy cows) and fungal and parasitic infections. This type of research often involves making the animals sick on purpose.

6. Ways of housing and keeping large numbers of cattle on farms (i.e., research into bedding, floor types, shelter, shade and hygiene practices).

7. Trying to find more “humane” slaughter methods (i.e., investigating what type of gas kills piglets the quickest and if stunning animals before killing them creates less of a pain response).

8. Different types of pain relief for standard procedures in the animal agriculture industry (i.e. dehorning, castration, C-section).

9. Safety tests for chemicals and animal remedies, including medications, supplements and fertilizers.

10. Increasing milk or muscle (beef) production (i.e., feeding cattle different additives and measuring how its digested).

Fistulation: Cattle with holes cut into their bodies

For decades, researchers have artificially created fistulas (also known as cannulas) in ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep and deer. These are essentially window-like holes in the side of an animal's body.

Fistulas are tubes that are created surgically to connect a cow or sheep’s stomach to her skin. The outside of the fistula is covered with a plastic cap that can be opened by scientists to remove stomach contents for analysis or introduce foreign substances.

It is a painful procedure and cows are still suffering from the intrusive surgery up to 11 days after the surgery. Learn more here.

‍Additional calf exploitation - the calf blood industry

Calves and calf foetuses are killed, and the blood is drained from their bodies to be used in other research.

There are two main types of calf blood products: Fetal bovine serum and New Born Calf Serum.

Fetal bovine serum is taken from foetuses that have been removed from their mothers in slaughterhouses after they have been killed. A needle is injected into the foetus’ heart, and the blood is pumped out. The foetuses have to be alive during this so that their blood comes out easier. They also have to be at least three months into the gestation period to ensure that their heart is large enough to puncture.

Newborn Calf Serum is sourced similarly; calves who are 20 days old or younger have their heart punctured and are bled to death.

These products are used as a media base and growth supplement in many different types of research.

In the news

Mycoplasma Bovis: "Researchers will measure how M. Bovis impacts infected animals and herds, including physical signs, effects on milk yield and quality, weight gain in cattle, and the duration of these effects." Read more.

Cow shock collars: "Animals wear GPS-enabled collars that identify their location relative to invisible fence lines created on a digital farm map. The animals are trained to be guided by audio prompts (beeps) from the collars when required. As an animal gets close to a virtual fence, a series of beeps alerts them to the fence boundary. If they cross the fence line, they receive a "disincentive", a mild electric shock, and are guided back inside the line." Read more.

Bobby calves: Bobby calves (male calves of dairy cows) are normally unwanted by the dairy industry. Researchers are cross-breeding dairy cows with beef breeds so that bobby calves can be killed and eaten after a year, rather than being killed as "excess" after 4 days. Read more. 

Climate change: AgResearch scientists have been given $10 million to develop cattle better adapted to warmer temperatures and to lower methane emissions. Read more.

Places that use cattle for science in NZ include universities such as Lincoln University (who have their own research dairy farm) and Massey University (they also have their own dairy farms), private companies such as Abacus Bio Limited and Cognosco, crown institutes such as AgResearch, industry bodies such as Dairy NZ and by other organisations and individuals.

Cattle used for science in NZ are sourced from commercial establishments, farms, public sources, breeding units and other sources.

Discover real-life examples of how cattle have been used in NZ below!