Under the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, NQ Dry Tropics is leading a consortium including Gulf Savannah NRM, Qld Government, graziers and scientists in a five-year project to test the efficacy of virtual fencing in the Burdekin region. Virtual fencing can direct livestock away from environmentally vulnerable land towards better pastures, improving land management and drought resilience.
Cattle wear a collar fitted with solar powered, GPS enabled eShepherd virtual fencing tech, that receives the coordinates of the virtual paddock boundary via WI-FI and provides audio and electrical cues. A key element of the research is animal welfare, with early results indicating the electrical cues are comparable to traditional electric fencing and that cattle quickly attune to audio warnings of ‘fence’ proximity.
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