If you can potty-train a child, you can potty-train a cow.

如果你可以训练孩子使用便盆，你也可以对奶牛进行如厕训练。

At least, that was the theory a group of researchers in Germany decided to test, in a bid to find a solution to the environmental damage caused by livestock waste.

至少，这是一群德国研究员决定验证的理论，目标是解决牲畜粪便危害环境的问题。

"It's usually assumed that cattle are not capable of controlling defecation or urination," said Jan Langbein, co-author of a study published Monday in the journal Current Biology.

这项研究9月13日发表在《当代生物学》期刊上。该研究的合著者扬•朗本说道："人们通常认为，家畜无法控制大小便。"

The team of scientists from FBN and FLI in Germany and the University of Auckland in New Zealand began to potty-train the calves, in a process they called "MooLoo training."

来自德国农场动物生物学研究所、弗里茨-利普曼恩研究所和新西兰奥克兰大学的科学家团队开始对牲畜进行如厕训练，他们将这一过程称作MooLoo训练。

The results showed that calves performed at a similar level to children when learning to potty-train, and did better than very young children.

研究结果显示，牛学习如厕的水平和小孩差不多，而且比幼童表现更好。