Cows Given Virtual Reality Headsets So They Think They Are Outside

Even cow's get affected by the winter weather, so in an attempt to make them think they're in warmer climbs one farmer has fitted his cattle up with virtual reality goggles.

Izzet Kocak, a farmer from Aksaray, Turkey, has had to bring his cows inside for the winter, but still wants them to think they're outside enjoying sunny pastures and green grass.

His solution? He's fitted his cattle with virtual reality goggles to make them think that they are in fact enjoying some luscious green fields in the sunshine.

According to The Sun, Kocak tried out the headsets on two of his livestock after a study suggested the pleasant scenes make the cows happier which in turn leads to them producing more milk.

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Apparently it's worked too, with output increasing from 22 litres of 27 litres a day.

Izzet has form when it comes trying out unusual methods to make his animals happier and more productive. He used to play his 180 animals classical music in order to improve their mood, and is apparently so pleased with the VR sets that he plans to buy ten more headsets.

He said: "They are watching a green pasture and it gives them an emotional boost. They are less stressed."

Images of the cows in their headgear have gone viral, meanwhile, with some witty commenters drawing parallels to The Matrix movies, where mankind lives in a simulation while machine use their bodies as energy sources.

One fan paraphrased the famous scene where Keanu Reeves' Neo chooses between the red and blue poll and wrote: "You take the short grass, the story ends, you wake up in the pasture and believe whatever you want to believe.

"You take the long grass, you stay in wonderland and I show you how deep the human hole goes."

Another commenter added: "With the sequels The Mootrix Reuddered and The Mootrix Ruminations."

The headsets were developed with vets and initially tested on a farm in Moscow.

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Farmers worked with developers, vets and consultants at the Krasnogorsk farm near Moscow, to beam the cattle a simulation of a summer field.

The results of the study revealed 'reduced anxiety and improved overall emotional mood in the herd', according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Moscow.

The hardware has been developed by taking a human VR headset before moulding it to the specifications of the animal's head - so there's not much point nicking one from a cow if you see one wearing a head set.

The colour palette in the software for the set was then tweaked in order to make it more suitable to the animal's vision.

Cows' vision is course much different to humans, as they can't see red or green and only perceive dull shades of yellow and blue.