Virtual Fencing
Q & A
Q - Have you found the animals permanently learn these zones
A - This is touched on in the video. The research Dr. Campbell has been doing
Q - Any reactions from animal welfare groups?
A - We have worked closely with Animal Welfare groups throughout the process as optimal animal welfare has been a key focus both for us as researchers, as well as Agersens in their development. It has mostly taken a clear communication of how the technology works for the animal welfare groups to be on board. Legislation has changed in the last few years in some states in Australia, and all animal welfare groups in Australia recently gathered together for an information session and their opinions will come forth sometime this year most likely. There was initially a lack of support because of the use of the electric shock on the animals, but improved understanding of how it works and the general societal acceptance has consequently improved acceptance by animal welfare groups.
Q - Can you tell us anything about the approximate cost of the units and system components that Agersens sells?
A - Agersens sells the neckbands, the base stations, and the online subscription to the user-interface for controlling the neckbands and setting up fences. There is certainly an investment to start up, but they are better placed to comment on exact price. At the moment, you are looking at a few hundred Australian dollars per device, and a few thousand Australian dollars for the base station.
Q - Do you use visual boundaries when establishing a new exclusion zone?
A - This is answered in the video, but no there are no visual boundaries or cues. The livestock learned very early by the audible cue alone. Dr. Campbell also shares data on the potential stress on livestock towards the end of her presentation. Please be sure to watch it. There was no difference between temporary electric fences and the virtual fence.
Q - How strongly is the range of the system affected by topography?
Q - It doesn’t look like it stopped them from going down the river on the other side of the fence
A - Some animals did ignore the audible cue and the collar, but the program changed the boundary fence for that animal and within 30 mins had the animal back to the predetermined pasture.
Q - Is this available in the US and what is the name of the App?
A – Yes there are many different options for virtual fences. As of 2021 (in alphabetical order) Agersen, Halter, Nofence, and Vence.
Q - Have you started to do some comparisons of cost between purchasing and maintaining the virtual fence technology vs. the same cost for hard fences in similar locations?
A - The University of Melbourne research group as part of the overall 'Virtual Herding' Project did look at cost/benefit analyses for the technology. Their results are available on the Dairy Australia website.
Q - Do you have any plans to try collaring just a subset of the dominant animals and see if that keeps the rest from straying? Maybe you wouldn't have to collar the whole herd and still get OK control?
A - This was answered in the video, but the short answer is the audible cue is not loud enough for a neighboring animal to hear it. It is recommended that all animals be collared to have the best results.
Q - Does dense/tall vegetation also interfere with the radio signal?
A - Vegetation would interfere with the radio signal, but I cannot comment on precisely how much. It may be alleviated by more base stations that can connect to the devices. Agersens.com is better placed to answer very technical questions. They are continually updating their technology as well. It has been 4 years of continual refinement so it is currently very sophisticated, and improving all the time.