Cow toilet-training project aims to reduce emissions

The scaling up of the programme could reduce harmful urine patches in paddocks and barns

After 15 days of training, three-quarters of the calves learned the full set of skills within 20 to 25 urinations, faster than the time it takes for the average toddler to pick up the habit. Picture: Larry Cummins

A toilet-training programme designed to treat cow urine in a more sustainable way could help to minimise the environmental impact of toxic substances produced by the waste.

While discussion of the climate effects from the meat and dairy industries has largely focused on methane emissions from cattle, cow urine is another area of concern for both air and land health, according to scientists from the University of Auckland in New Zealand and the Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology in Germany who designed the new programme.