家畜的粪便是温室气体的一大来源，为了减少家畜随地排泄对环境的危害，德国科学家对奶牛进行了如厕训练，结果发现，牲畜比人们想的更聪明。

 

If you can potty-train a child, you can potty-train a cow. At least, that was the theory a group of researchers in Germany decided¹ to test, in a bid to find a solution to the environmental damage caused by livestock² waste.

如果你可以训练孩子使用便盆，你也可以对奶牛进行如厕训练。至少，这是一群德国研究员决定验证的理论，目标是解决牲畜粪便危害环境的问题。

 

"It's usually assumed that cattle are not capable of controlling defecation or urination," said Jan Langbein, co-author of a study published Monday in the journal Current Biology.

这项研究本周一（9月13日）发表在《当代生物学》期刊上。该研究的合著者扬·朗本说道：“人们通常认为，家畜无法控制大小便。”

 

Farmed cattle produce roughly 66-88 pounds of feces and 8 gallons of urine each day and are free to relieve themselves where they please. However, the spread of their waste into the soil can have negative effects on the environment.

在农场饲养的牲畜每天大约会排出66到88磅粪便和8加仑尿液，而且，他们都是随地大小便。但是，它们的粪便渗入泥土中会对环境产生负面影响。

 

Agriculture is the largest source of global ammonia emissions³, and livestock farming makes up more than half of that contribution, the researchers noted⁴ in a press release, adding that in Europe, 90% of ammonia emissions come from agriculture.

研究人员在一份新闻稿中指出，农业是全球氨排放的最大来源，其中畜牧业的氨排放量就占了一半以上。据称，欧洲90%的氨排放量来自农业。

 

While the ammonia produced from cow waste doesn't directly contribute to climate change, when mixed with soil it is converted into nitrous oxide⁵, a greenhouse gas. It also contaminates the soil and local waterways.

尽管牛粪便中产生的氨气不会直接导致气候变化，但是氨和泥土混合后会转化为温室气体一氧化二氮。粪便还会污染泥土和当地水道。

 

The main question for Langbein, an animal psychologist at the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) in Germany, and his team was: "Why shouldn't (cattle) be able to learn how to use a toilet? Animals are quite clever, and they can learn a lot." Langbein said in a statement.

德国农场动物生物学研究所的动物心理学家朗本在一份声明中说道，对于他和他的团队来说，主要问题在于：“为什么牲畜不能学会如厕？动物们很聪明，也能学习很多东西。”

 

The team of scientists from FBN and FLI in Germany and the University of Auckland in New Zealand began to potty-train the calves⁶, in a process they called "MooLoo training."

来自德国农场动物生物学研究所、弗里茨-利普曼恩研究所和新西兰奥克兰大学的科学家团队开始对牲畜进行如厕训练，他们将这一过程称作MooLoo训练。

 

In the first phase of training, the cattle were put in a closed latrine. And whenever they urinated, they were given a reward of either electrolyte mixture or crushed barley⁷.

在训练的第一阶段，牲畜被关在茅厕里。无论何时尿尿，它们都会获得电解质溶液或碾碎的大麦作为奖励。

 

"Once they were allowed outside, the calves would go in the toilet to get their reward, but they soon learned that there's only a reward if they urinate." FBN's Neele Dirksen, first author of the study, told CNN.

研究报告的第一作者、农场动物生物学研究所的尼尔·德克森告诉美国有线电视新闻网称：“一旦牲畜们被放出来，它们就会进茅厕去找奖励，但是它们很快就明白，只有在茅厕里尿尿才有奖励。”

 

To encourage calves to use the toilets, researchers also came up with a deterrent⁸. "We first used in-ear headphones and we played a very nasty sound whenever they urinated outside," said Langbein. "We thought this would punish the animals, but they didn't care. Ultimately, a splash of water worked well as a gentle deterrent."

为了鼓励牲畜使用厕所，研究人员也想出了威慑措施。朗本说：“我们一开始给牲畜装了入耳式耳机，无论何时牲畜在外面尿尿，就会播放很难听的声音。我们认为这是对动物的惩罚，但是它们却不在意。最后我们发现，用泼水这种温和的威慑措施效果不错。”

 

The calves were trained for 45 minutes every other day. And after 10 training days, the team had managed to successfully train 11 out of the 16 calves involved in the experiment.

研究人员每隔一天就对这些牛进行45分钟的如厕训练。在训练了10天后，参与实验的16头牛中有11头成功学会了如厕。

 

The results showed that calves performed at a similar level to children when learning to potty-train, and did better than very young children.

研究结果显示，牛学习如厕的水平和小孩差不多，而且比幼童表现更好。

 

The study showed that it is possible to potty-train calves, and Langbein said he hoped that "in a few years all cows will go to a toilet."

研究表明，对牛进行如厕训练是可行的。朗本表示，他希望“几年后所有的牛都能学会上厕所。”

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