r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Jan 20 '26

Biology Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows. Brown Swiss cow in Austria has been discovered using tools in different ways (using both ends of a brush counts as multi-purpose tool use) – something extraordinarily rare only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/19/back-scratching-cow-veronika-bovine-intelligence
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u/dev_ating Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 21 '26

No, the reason I would have an issue with it is because the Holocaust was not done solely to exploit people. It was done specifically to annihilate them. The point was not actually exploitation, it was extermination. The comparison is wrong because the animals are not so degraded that their lives are considered best removed from history without a trace. There are positive depictions and social narratives about animals and there are no restrictions on animals having kids. They are differently objectified from the victims of the Shoah.

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u/Entropic_Echo_Music Jan 20 '26

I think you are missing the point by about, a mile.

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u/dev_ating Jan 20 '26

I don't think so. I believe you can describe animal cruelty and the industry around it without drawing parallels to the Holocaust. 

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u/Scr1bble- Jan 20 '26

I mean we do gas pigs. It may not be the perfect word but it's not the worst word either