Is virtual fencing welfare-friendly?
With the commercialisation of virtual fencing neckbands for cattle (and potentially an ear-tag for sheep), it is critical to understand the welfare impacts of the technology. Virtual fencing requires animals to learn the association between an audio cue and electrical pulse to signal the presence of a virtual boundary. Cattle can avoid receiving an electrical pulse if they stop or turn away at the sound of the audio cue. The CSIRO Animal Behaviour and Welfare team developed a framework around the controllability and predictability of virtual fencing stimuli to demonstrate how welfare impacts of the electrical pulse are minimal when preceded by the audio cue giving animals control. Additional comparisons with standard electric tape fencing have also shown few behavioural and physiological impacts when cattle are kept in a paddock with a virtual fence. Further longer-term studies will continue to provide evidence of how animals adapt to a virtual fencing system.