While cows have been revered in many cultures throughout history, and remain so by Hindus – there’s a reason why we use the term “sacred cow”, after all – it’s fair to say that western cultures haven’t been as respectful. When we describe a human as “bovine” (meaning cow-like) we aren’t generally being kind, but accusing them of a particularly dull and witless nature. Most of us only ever see cows standing near motionless in fields and staring vacantly as they chew grass, and think that there can’t be much happening behind those big staring eyes.
