The effects of using wireless fencing on behavior and well-being of dairy cows and other cattle (original) (raw)

Learn about how wireless fences work, what their benefits are and how they perform in releation to animal welfare.

Problem

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of virtual fencing on the welfare and behaviour of cattle.

Solution

Wireless, virtual fencing is an alternative and complement to (shock) wire for grazing cattle. The cow is fitted with a collar with a GPS function, which emits sound and electrical signals when an animal threatens to go outside an area designated by the livestock owner. This system provides opportunities for customized livestock grazing in pastures and natural areas, with only all the way around still requires physical fencing. Wireless fencing contributes via positioning and changes therein (or not) contributes to better monitoring of animals and provides flexible pasture management because the fence can easily be moved (digitally). Worldwide several systems are available, but for the Dutch situation, it is still new. Although a lot of research has already been done into the effects on animal welfare and benefits for livestock farmers, there are still questions regarding application possibilities, for example when working towards nitrogen efficiency and biodiversity goals. To this end, the VIPNL project 'Dynamic Wireless Grazing' is investigating these issues.

Description

In this report you will learn about how wireless fencing works, about animal welfare in relation to wireless fencing, about different wireless fencing approaches, for example, power collars also used for dogs. In summary, the vast majority of animals were found to be able to cope with the wireless fence within one or a few days and be able to cope and receive hardly any electric shocks after a few days. A small proportion of the animals, however, have more difficulty learning to cope with wireless fencing or take any shocks for granted, based on the number of signals delivered to the animals via the collar. More research is needed to find out what the latter means for animal welfare and whether customization is needed to improve the welfare of these animals. Most of the available research covers a period of a few days or weeks. The question remains, what are the effects on animal welfare when using wireless fencing over a longer period of time, i.e. months or years.