Comment Re:Who do they consider stupid? (Score 1) 87
Do they consider cows stupid that the cows don't get it that there is nothing more to graze and they have to move, but that seems too complex a task they need a shock to get it?
Not stupid. Cattle are quite clever when it comes to finding food to feed the bacteria in their fermentation vats (the rumen, their first stomach).
The issue is that each pasture has grasses of better and lesser quality. The cattle will eat the better grass before eating the poorer grass. The rancher wants the cattle to eat just the better grasses about 50% of the length of the leaves. If the cattle are moved elsewhere at that point, the better grasses will grow more vigorously so there will be more of them when the cattle return. If the cattle are allowed to stay in the pasture, they will eat the better grasses to the point that they (the better grasses) cannot compete with the poorer grasses, and the pasture's utility will degrade. This is the main reason for rotating pastures.
Cattle are not stupid (with respect to finding food they like) but they do tend to be lazy. Like humans, I would suggest