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the flies

⁨1085⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨fossilesque@mander.xyz⁩ to ⁨science_memes@mander.xyz⁩

https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/9c12dbcd-7443-4517-a903-27a0559414b0.png

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Comments

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  • over_clox@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Did they study the paint chemicals themselves to see if that by itself was a natural bug repellant?

    Did they check if the paint chemicals are even safe for cows?

    🤔

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    • essteeyou@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      What if it’s just the white stripes (not the band)? Do white cows have the same number of flies? What if you paint them with black stripes?

      Maybe those are answered in the article, but I’ll never read it.

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      • over_clox@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        LOL, same. Not worth the reading time. Any which way you twist it, there’s still probably way too many unknown factors.

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    • Liz@midwest.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Yes. They had a control group with only black stripes along with an unpainted group. I would have to assume they also checked the paints for potential repellents, but I only skimmed the article.

      www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6776349/

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      • Clinicallydepressedpoochie@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        There is also the point creating a barrier.

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      • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Instead of unpainted black they should have done painted black, or done both.

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    • SmoothLiquidation@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      I haven’t read the study, but most of these would need a placebo group, so divide the herd into thirds, one with no paint, one with stripes, and one fully painted white to get a baseline for each group. Also would be good to randomize which group each cow goes in each day so to rule out one cow who is especially tasty to flies.

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      • Tja@programming.dev ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Also blindfold the scientists and the cows so it’s double blind. We don’t want the cows acting in a fly-attracting way because of placebo.

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      • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Those groups also have another characteristic that changes: the amount of the cow covered in paint.

        How do you determine if its that vs the stripes or colors?

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    • Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      I’ve not seen the study referenced, but if I were doing it I’d have cows I painted with white paint, white stripes, black paint, and a control I left unpainted.

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      • over_clox@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Yes, obviously. But are the flies possibly repelled by the paint? Are the flies even able to bite through the paint?

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      • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        This study is posted in another comment here, but they left out the black paint group.

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    • blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      A control group where they mix the colors together and paint them grey would answer that

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      • over_clox@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Can a biting fly even penetrate paint, to consume that precious bovine blood?

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    • StaticFalconar@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      What if you actually read the study before asking questions 😅😜🤔

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  • wolfpack86@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Tha smartest mother fucker in the room

    Image

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    • LordWiggle@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      What is the burger tie for? To repel hippies?

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      • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        No it’s to wipe the sauce off his chin after finishing a burger!

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      • Emmie@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        What is America known for? Burgers and prisons

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      • wolfpack86@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        No, that’s just to look cool

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  • wieson@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    In the cited study with buckets, it was shown that striped and spotted surfaces attract fewer flies.

    That makes me think if Nguni cattle Nguni cattle have an easier time with those pests.

    If yes, that would be another plus for hardy landraces in place of overengineered, capitalmaxxed breeds.

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  • Holyhandgrenade@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Image

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  • ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    So, I was able to convince a coworker that I had a friend who worked at our nearby zoo, and that my friend let me in on the secret that zebras aren’t real, they’re just horses painted to look like that, “big zoo is lying to us to get our money” you know.

    Well, long story short I’m gonna need to steal this image from you and crop it, thanks.

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  • LordWiggle@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    I’m going on holiday to Cambodia in February. Guess I’ll bring my body paint supplies and run around in war stripes over my body.

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    • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      now that the song is playing forcefully in my brain i’m going to make you suffer with me

      www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KTsXHXMkJA

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      • roguetrick@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Don’t forget to pack a wife.

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      • gwen@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        YESSS BEAT ME TO IT LMAO

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    • And009@reddthat.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Can confirm, insects are drawn to brightness

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      • LordWiggle@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Luckily my soul is dark and bitter.

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  • ummthatguy@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Good for their physical health, but not great for their personal goals and expectations.

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    • neidu2@feddit.nl ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Yup. Large creatures knows better than to wear stripes.

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      • ummthatguy@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Oh, I was thinking more along the lines of any aspirations to not be a cow.

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    • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      I’m pretty sure this study shows that paint repels mosquitos. Not much else.

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  • 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Image

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  • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Why has evolution let these cows down?

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    • InverseParallax@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      I mean, we kind of hijacked evolution in favor of hypergrowth and ludicrous gazongas a long time ago.

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      • daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Hippity, hoppety. Your natural selection is now my property!

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    • loaExMachina@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      In most places horse are more nuisances than actual threats to large mammals. But then, there are the tsé-tsé flies…

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      • fubars@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        tse-tse horses would be terrifying.

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  • CrispyFern@hexbear.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    That one zoo that painted a donkey and tried to pass it off as a zebra were just way ahead of their time

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    • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Wasn’t that a dog and a panda?

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  • gmtom@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    I’m about to start dressing like beetlejuice

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  • HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Reminds me of a donkey I saw in Mexico painted like a zebra trying to trick tourists

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    • AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Sure, but there’s also the secondary market of people who think it’s hilarious to get a photo with a donkey painted like a zebra to trick tourists. Lean into it a bit, like wrestling, it could be fun.

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      • HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        After 10 Pacificos I will in fact be leaning

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    • Cort@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      This is no donkey painted like a zebra, it’s a majestic hybrid zonkey. Just 5 dollars to take a photo, or 3 for $10.

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      • HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        I’ll come back after 10 Pacificos

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  • JokeDeity@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Source? I’m curious to read about this. How do they know the paint didn’t do it? Another comment here said that spots also do the trick, so if you have two cows in the same field, one spotted and one solid colored, is the solid colored cow getting 2x as many flies? Do the stripes still work when surrounded by other cows who don’t have stripes? So many questions!

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    • FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      This is why we need the paper linked with the meme. It seems obvious that a fly would prefer skin to paint.

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      • fossilesque@mander.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        I like to see what you guys can find when you dig around. ;)

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    • exasperation@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      How do they know the paint didn’t do it?

      There were 3 groups of black cows: an unpainted control group, a black stripe group painted with black stripes (not very visible because the cows were already black), and a black and white painted group. The control group had similar results to the black stripe group, which suggests that the black paint alone didn’t do anything.

      So further research could be to compare to an all black painted group and an all white painted group, with no unpainted fur, as well. If it’s the pattern, then one would expect the totally painted cattle of either paint color would see similar results as unpainted.

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      • JokeDeity@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Brilliant, thanks!

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    • fossilesque@mander.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/jour…

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  • bstix@feddit.dk ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    If they figure out if it’s the white stripes or black stripes that do the trick they could reach 100%.

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  • bi_tux@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    I first read function as in mathemetical function, now I wonder, what the avarege zebras stripes function is

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    • felsiq@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Pedantic warning: it’s not a conventional function, cuz it’d be multivalued for any given input no matter where you put the axes lol

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  • lennivelkant@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Some horse fly blankets and hoods have a zebra pattern, probably for the same reason.

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  • AFC1886VCC@reddthat.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Moobra

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  • ryan213@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    That’s where Hershey’s Cookies and Cream chocolate bars are from!

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    • over_clox@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Wait wait wait, I’m calling bullshit. I see no udders, nor any horns. That’s obviously two people wearing a striped cow costume for Halloween, duh.

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  • three@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Why are the top comments in a science community so proudly anti-intellectual?

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    • Donut@leminal.space ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      It’s a meme community, it’s kinda in the name. Brains go out, meme go in. Monke laugh

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      • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Yeah but is this community for the scientists, or the memers!

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  • engelsaxons@hexbear.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    So if flies are attracted to dead things, and black and white stripes deter flies, then I believe we’ve just explained Beetlejuice’s appearance!

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    • propter_hog@hexbear.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      QED

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  • Retrograde@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    What if the flies just hated the smell of the paint lol

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  • rickyrigatoni@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Cute dog

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  • autokludge@programming.dev ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Beeflejuice

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  • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    See, some people think forcible sterilization is never acceptable, and yet we have multiple comments from people that didn’t read the study asking if the authors thought of something.

    Maybe you’d know if you were literate.

    You can have your balls back if you do your homework.

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    • MBM@lemmings.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      This thread is like a Reddit/Lemmy Smart Guy combo. People who just assume paid researchers didn’t consider this extremely basic thing they learned about in high school, and also hinting at IQ-based eugenics

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    • PineRune@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Being illiterate has no correlation with wanting other people to do all the work for me. We’re just lazy. Please do some homework before jumping to conclusions.

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      • desktop_user@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        still sounds like reproduction being a privilege is a good idea

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    • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Alright, so for the idiots here, how is this not a study showing that paint repels mosquitos?

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      • Dragonstaff@leminal.space ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        The treatments were black-and-white painted stripes, black painted stripes, and no stripes (all-black body surface). Recorded fly-repelling behaviors were head throw, ear beat, leg stamp, skin twitch, and tail flick. Photo images of the right side of each cow were taken using a commercial digital camera after every observation and biting flies on the body and each leg were counted from the photo images. Here we show that the numbers of biting flies on Japanese Black cows painted with black-and-white stripes were significantly lower than those on non-painted cows and cows painted only with black stripes

        Black paint was not as effective as black and white paint.

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  • keepcarrot@hexbear.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Time to dust off my old timey prison outfit

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  • pjwestin@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Interesting. A while ago, I read that zebra stripes were meant to confuse predators. Basically, the idea was that when they ran as a herd, their stripes made it difficult to tell where one zebra ended and the other began. I wonder if that’s considered bunk now or if this is supposed to be an additional benefit.

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  • 10_0@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Can’t wait to see this in British fields whenever I venture outside the basement!

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  • Isa@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Sure, that it wasn’t the smell of the paint, that drove the insects away?

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    • flora_explora@beehaw.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      If you look at the study you can see that they also had a treatment of black stripes on black cows to control for just that:

      The cows were assigned to treatments using a 3 × 3 Latin-square design. The treatments consisted of black-and-white painted stripes (B&W), black painted stripes (B), and no stripes (CONT) as a control (Fig 1).

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      • Isa@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        Thanks for the response. 🙂 I indeed hadn’t look into the paper as there was no link in the original post, but I have done so now and it seem, you are right. Thanks! 👍

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    • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      Do zebras smell of paint?

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      • Isa@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        This doesn’t help very much.

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  • FuckyWucky@hexbear.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    moo

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  • lnxtx@feddit.nl ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

    Yay, more animal abuse.

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    • Collatz_problem@hexbear.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      If it actually helps to deter insects, than I think it is the opposite of animal abuse.

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      • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

        They might mean the paint itself is abuse, which I think most vegans would agree with, but the more solid part is the abuse around owning either a commercial farm cow, or a research and testing cow.

        It is just a picture but its hard to assume this cow came in from the grassland asking for help woth mosquitos, and we nice humans obliged.

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    • bi_tux@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago

      how exactly is painting a cow animal abuse? I’m curios

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