October 23, 2019

Japanese researchers find cows painted zebra stripes keep away flies

This environmentally-friendly but tedious fix could be the first step to improving cow health as the global cattle industry suffers losses due to fly bites, reported CNN.

In the PLOS One published study, Japanese researches painted six cows in black and white stripes, black-only stripes and no stripes.

They observed that black and white striped cows suffered fewer than 60 bites in 30 minutes, compared to unpainted cows and black-only striped cows that suffered more than 110 bites in 30 minutes.

In the wild, the stripes of a zebra help fend off flies and other insects. The polarisation of light from the black and white surface impairs an insect's perception. Researchers said because of this, insects cannot decelerate correctly to land on the zebra's skin.

Fly bites harm cows during feeding, grazing and bedding. Researchers said because cows cannot swat flies away, they need to use extra energy to avoid the insects. They will huddle close together to prevent fly attacks, but this aggravates the risk of injury and heat stress.

The water-based paint is safe for the animal and humans but only lasts a few days. This short-term solution is safer than using a pesticide-laced ear tag, but the economic benefits can only be seen if the cows are painted at a bigger scale ­­­- thousands of cows multiple times a week to see results.

-      CNN