Is it true that bulls hate the color red?

No. The familiar claim that bulls hate red mistakes the color of a bullfighter's cape for what provokes the animal. Movement and the stressful situation are the relevant explanation, rather than a special aversion to red.

Research identifies two cone mechanisms in cattle, providing the basis for dichromatic color vision. This means their color perception differs from typical human vision; it does not mean that red objects are invisible or that cattle see only in black and white.

The distinction matters: research on calves has found behavioral differences under different lighting wavelengths. Those findings do not demonstrate hatred of red or establish that a red cape itself causes aggression. The myth should not be replaced with the broader claim that color can never affect cattle behavior.