Bulls Don't Hate Red. They Can't Even See It.

A matador waves a red cape, the bull sees red, and it charges. The bull cannot see red.

Cattle are red-green colorblind. In 1998, scientists measured the cone cells in a cow's eye and found only two types, one tuned to blue and one to yellow-green. There is no red cone at all. To a bull, that famous red cape is a dull, moving grey shape.

So why is the cape red? Two reasons, and neither is the bull. Tradition, and it hides the blood. The colour is for the crowd, not the animal.

What actually sets a bull off is movement. Researchers tested it. They put out three still flags, white, blue, and red. The bull charged all three the same. Then they waved a blue flag next to a still red one, and it chased the blue and ignored the red. They even stood a man dressed head to toe in red, perfectly still, and the bull ignored him and charged the people running around.

Waving a red cape at a bull is like waving a flag at someone who is colorblind. They are not reacting to the colour. They are reacting to the waving.

Verdict: BS. The bull charges the movement. It cannot even see the red.