The technology is increasingly popular around New Zealand, saving on labour and fencing costs as farmers seamlessly integrate wearables into their operations.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also considerable commercial potential for the companies leading the charge.<\/p>\n
New Zealand agritech Halter has raised more than $300m to fuel global expansion, while Gallagher is actively hiring at its Hamilton headquarters to power its technology division, with its \u201ceShepherd\u201d collars for cattle soaring in popularity in Australia and other overseas markets.<\/p>\n
And with dairy and beef riding a wave of high prices, farmers have the funds to invest in technology.<\/p>\n
The animal welfare charity group, Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa, has released an ethical code for GPS collars worn by livestock. <\/p>\n
It says New Zealand is falling behind Australia in regulating virtual fencing technology.<\/p>\n
Managing director Helen Beattie said the collars emit warning sounds and \u201celectric shocks\u201d to keep or move stock within designated areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralia has moved to regulate recently where they\u2019ve said you have to have daily oversight in some jurisdictions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve put limits on how much electricity can be used in other jurisdictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve talked about who is allowed to train farmers in the use of these devices. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt has to be someone employed by the manufacturers; it can\u2019t be a quasi-consultancy situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NZ Veterinary Association (NZVA) supports the responsible adoption of virtual herding and fencing, and is working with farmers, industry and government to future-proof the technology, ensuring animal welfare remains central to its use.<\/p>\n
NZVA dairy cattle vet committee member Kyle Kannan was part of the NZVA group presenting to the Select Committee on virtual herding tech.<\/p>\n
He works with cows wearing Halter in the Rotorua region, where he\u2019s a clinical director at Vet Plus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re definitely in support of regulatory standards being made for this technology,\u201d Kannan said, \u201cbut right now we\u2019re in support of how it\u2019s being used on farms, and the outcomes we\u2019re getting with animal health.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I walk into a paddock with virtual fencing technology, cows with collars will still come up to me and want to scratch, and the ones that don\u2019t will turn and walk away, just like a paddock I walk into that doesn\u2019t have virtual fencing technology.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vets for Animal Welfare Aotearoa, however, said more needs to be done to safeguard animals.<\/p>\n
It has raised concerns about whether livestock could become trapped against gates or in floodwaters while under the influence of collar technology.<\/p>\n
Helen Beattie said she\u2019s unsure how much electricity is administered and how much it fluctuates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe premise is aversive training, and that\u2019s the use of electrical shocks if animals bump up or come close to the perimeter,\u201d Beattie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d like transparency around how often are they getting shocked, and how much shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s lots of different ways the shock can be applied, so we\u2019d like transparency around that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Golden Bay dairy farmer Tim Rhodes has been a past critic, and he still strongly opposes the use of virtual fencing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t even think about running those collars,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s very damaging to a cow\u2019s psyche, because they become hard-wired to the collars and they no longer respond to humans.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ministry for Primary Industries says virtual fencing is currently legislated by the collar and tethers section of the Animal Welfare Act.<\/p>\n
Its spokesperson said the current code for dairy cattle, and the code for sheep and beef cattle, has requirements for how farmers must meet obligations for animal welfare.<\/p>\n
\u201cWearable collars, such as those used for virtual fencing technologies, are managed under Regulation 47 (Collars and Tethers) of the Animal Welfare (Care and Procedures) Regulations 2018,\u201d said MPI director of animal health and welfare, Trish Mead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe codes specify that dairy and beef cattle must be handled in a way that minimises the risk of pain, injury or distress, and that only the minimum force required must be used when moving dairy and beef cattle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mead added that the code of welfare for dairy cattle is currently under review, as is the code of welfare for sheep and beef cattle.<\/p>\n
– RNZ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The technology is increasingly popular around New Zealand, saving on labour and fencing costs as farmers seamlessly integrate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,3013,13504,79211,13988,83727,111,139,69,37250,60781,13120,52193,82524],"class_list":["post-467591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-but","tag-critics","tag-fencing","tag-gains","tag-miles","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-penny","tag-popularity","tag-remain","tag-virtual","tag-vocal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}