Hole-y cow! How farmers are monitoring what cows eat using 'window' in their sides

Researchers in Switzerland fitted 14 cows with cannulas in their side

Cannulas are holes that are cut directly into a cow’s digestive tract

The 8-inch (20cm) holes allow farmers to see how food is being processed

Monitoring the energy efficiency of cows can help improve farming methods and the environment

But animal rights campaigners have criticised the activity, branding it cruel

Farmers have a wealth of technology and data at their fingertips to get the best from livestock, but one old-fashioned technique still remains.



Researchers in Switzerland have fitted 14 cows with cannulas in their sides, that are cut directly into the animal’s digestive tract.



The 8-inch (20cm) holes allow farmers to directly see how food is being processed, and are plugged using rubber stoppers when not being used.



Scroll down for video



Researchers in Switzerland have fitted 14 cows with cannulas, pictured, in their sides that are cut directly into the cow's digestive tract, and fitted with a plug. The 8-inch (20cm) holes allow farmers to see how food is being processed, and to analyse the animal's energy efficiency

WHAT IS A CANNULATED COW?

The cannula acts like a porthole and gives direct access to the cow’s rumen. Once the cannula is surgically placed in the cow, the animals grazes for a set period of time before being examined. Farmers remove the plug and pull the grass and oat mixture from the rumen. This material is collected and tested and this analysis shows farmers and researches which forages get the best results from the livestock, based on how much is digested. The practice is said to have become common place in the 1920s but reports of cows being used in this way for scientific research date back to 1833. Cows with cannulas fitted are also known as fistulated cows.



Agroscope, in Grangeneuve, Switzerland uses the cannulated cows to test the digestion of different, experimental blends of oats to create a more balanced feed for the animals.

The cannula acts like a porthole and gives direct access to the cow’s rumen.

Once the cannula is surgically placed in the cow, the animals grazes for a set period of time before being examined.

Farmers remove the plug and pull the grass and oat mixture from the rumen.

This material is collected and tested, and this analysis shows farmers and researches which forages get the best results from the livestock, based on how much is digested.

The practice is said to have become common place in the 1920s but reports of cows being used in this way for scientific research date back to 1833.

Cows with cannulas fitted are also known as fistulated cows.

Researchers claim the process can help the environment by improving the energy efficiency of cows, which in turn reduces the amount of methane they produce. The cows are anaesthetised during the surgical procedure and are said to experience no pain when being examined. But animal rights campaigners claim it is abuse

Farmers and researchers claim the process can help the environment by improving the energy efficiency of cows, which in turn reduces the amount of methane they produce.

The cows are anaesthetised during the surgical procedure and are said to experience no pain when being examined.

But animal rights campaigners claim it is abuse, and have branded the practice as cruel.

An episode of Ripley's Believe it or Not interviewed Dr. Edward DePeters from the University of California Davis.

The report claimed fistulated cows have a longer life span due to the care they are given.