The experiment was to be carried out on five farms with more than 100 dairy cows in the herd.

A total of at least 2000 cows and investigate how the animals would be affected by being kept indoors all year round in modern stables instead of, as at present, being allowed to graze outdoors in the summer.

The overall goal of the project is stated to be to contribute to an increased national self-sufficiency in dairy products, something that has decreased for several years.

"The requirement that cattle be kept on pasture during the summer makes it difficult for some companies to expand their operations, which is a prerequisite for increased domestic production of dairy products," the researchers at Rise write in their application.

- The grazing law is a good piece of legislation and we have absolutely no purpose to change it.

On the other hand, heat waves are becoming more common and in some cases the cows have a hard time finding shade and then they choose to go inside.

The study would investigate how fans and other factors can provide the best possible environment for the cows.

It may be that it is better for the cows to be inside during a heat wave, says Niklas Jälevik, press manager at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.

The suffering of the animals weighs heavier

But the Gothenburg Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee does not believe that the experiment will lead to any improvement for the animals' quality of life and that the suffering of the experimental animals clearly outweighs the expected benefit of the animal experiment.

- It is unusual for us to reject applications in this way.

But we thought that the purpose of this experiment was obviously difficult to motivate, says Volkan Sayin, board member of Gothenburg's animal experiment ethics committee, who was involved in making the decision.

"It's about common sense"

In its decision, the board writes the following: “in the board's opinion, however, it is known that cattle have a strong desire to stay outdoors during the grazing period and research shows that they feel better about this.

The purpose of the experiment is thus to investigate something that is already known. "

- It's about common sense. In Sweden, we have dairy cows outdoors in the summer for a reason and that cows should not be allowed to go out and eat grass, I think everyone agrees is a bad idea when it comes to animal welfare, says Volkan Sayin.