MOULTRIE — Just how valid are those commercials about California and its “happy” cows? Is that something the average dairy farmer should be worried out?

Dr. Jan Shearer, a veterinarian with the University of Florida, thinks so.

“Animal welfare has become a major issue for us in the livestock industry,” he said.

Shearer has been a veterinarian since he graduated from the University of Florida in 1975. He has been on staff there for 26 years. His “Cow Whisperer” seminar is a new presentation that was added to the dairy events at this year’s Sunbelt Agricultural Expo. Shearer said he did not know “how it was coming off” but the people coming through were not necessarily dairy farmers. They were people who seemed to be looking for an opportunity to learn a little more about the dairy industry.

He said there seemed to be a lot of misunderstanding about the livestock industry.

“Sometimes they get the wrong impression from what they see on T.V.,” he said.

He said he believed it was important to keep the “ancient contract,” referencing the Bible, between animals and humans.

“The ancient contract between animals is they provide us with food and fiber and we provide them with appropriate care. ... My purpose here today is to talk about the five senses and how animals perceive their environment,” he said.

He said that animals react very differently, especially “prey type” animals like cow. They are not aggressive like carnivores.

“They’re hardwired in their brain as prey animals. Just like deer are,” Shearer said.

He said, however, with dairy cattle it was less obvious because they have so much contact with humans from the start. Whereas beef cattle were going to be less trusting of humans.

“Every bit of their behavior is traceable to those instincts,” he said.

He said humans learning about the animal’s behavior will facilitate the cows being “happier” and more comfortable. He said doing things to make them comfortable will make them less distressed.

During the seminar, he talked to his audience about the vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch senses of a cow while John Bernard, dairy scientist at the University of Georgia, brought a dairy cow to show.

He told them that the key to being a “whisperer” is to really understand how the animals perceive their environment.