Cows are social animals, but they are not as social as dogs. Like horses, cows are prey animals that are hyper-sensitive to rapid movement, but unlike horses, they do not have a strong flight mechanism. Instead, they band together when they feel threatened. Researchers do not know as much about the exact nature of cows’ social organization, but they do know that cows develop dominance hierarchies within their herds.

Most cows are not tame. Dairy cows become habituated to humans because they are milked several times a day, but beef cattle retain their natural fear of humans. Because of this, fear is the greatest animal welfare concern for cows. The author has observed serious mistreatment of cows during her work in the agricultural sector and strongly advises against hurting or scaring cows in any way. Cattle are also fearful of anger, sudden movements, and yelling, all of which are “high-intensity stimuli” (143). Grandin feels a particular kinship with cows, relating some of their experiences to her own life experiences as a person with autism. She too is sensitive to high-intensity stimuli like yelling, and much of her work with cattle has been based upon her understanding of her own stress and fear responses. Cattle are also sensitive to evolutionary dangers. They are naturally afraid of heights and rapid movement, both of which can pose mortal danger, and they are susceptible to socially learned fears, becoming fearful of humans because of abuse or yelling.

Cows also fear novel stimuli. The author notes that cows become “curiously” afraid, meaning they investigate novel stimuli cautiously in order to determine whether or not the object is a threat. This same impulse has been observed in humans, most notably by Dr. Peter Milner. His research into the amygdala, the brain’s fear center, has shown that even when fearful, humans will investigate new, potentially dangerous changes in their environment.

The author notes that in grazing settings, it is relatively easy to avoid activating the cows’ fear systems. However, in meatpacking plants or during transportation, it is not always possible to avoid causing fear. Much of her work in the cattle industry has been in service of cow welfare, and she has many methods on how best to minimize cows’ distress, even in stressful scenarios.

Cattle also experience stress when they are inspected, as they are forced to enter holding chutes that activate their rage system. (Restraining an animal typically induces fear and then rage.) The author encourages handlers to insert cardboard into the chute to limit cows’ vision, as cows grow fearful when they see an approaching threat (their handler) in a situation that provides no way to escape. She also advises habituating the cows to their chutes with positive reinforcement.

Cows’ panic system is activated primarily through early weaning, which the author advises against. Instead, she recommends separating mothers from their calves 45 days prior to shipping, but allowing the mothers and calves to stand next to one another on either side of a fence. Alternately, calves can be kept with their mothers but prevented from nursing via the use of a plastic clip attached to their noses. Cows can also experience panic due to regrouping. Herds are often broken apart and re-formed during a cow’s life, and cows prefer to remain with cows that they already know. Minimizing re-grouping can help reduce panic.

The author speculates that the low standards of animal welfare in the cattle industry exist for several reasons. She observes that stock workers do not tend to view animals as sentient creatures with feelings, nor do they have access to the research that would alter their beliefs about cattle. Even when stock workers are provided with such research, they often ignore it. Grandin notes that few people want to change their treatment of animals, as it is simply easier to perpetuate familiar handling techniques. The author has developed a more humane chute for cattle called a center-track restrainer, and she has been frustrated on numerous occasions when she installed the system and trained stock workers on how to use it, only to return a few years later to find them using cattle prods and yelling. After years in the industry, the author has come to the conclusion that animal welfare in the agricultural industry also has a human factor: Handlers themselves must be trained and managed so that they treat animals properly.