Pre-Exposure to an Electrical Stimulus Primes Associative Pairing of Audio and Electrical Stimuli for Dairy Heifers in a Virtual Fencing Feed Attractant Trial

摘要

Virtual fencing may soon provide an alternative to electric fencing in livestock production systems. In virtual fencing systems, a collar is worn by each animal and emits an audio cue when the animal approaches a virtual boundary that has been set via a Global Positioning System (GPS). An electrical stimulus is delivered by the collar if the animal continues to walk forward, but not if they stop or turn. Over time, the animal increasingly responds to the audio cue alone. A better understanding of factors that influence learning of the association between audio and electrical stimuli may ensure all animals adapt in systems that utilise virtual fencing. Dairy heifers were reared with or without exposure to electric fencing. Heifers with experience of electric fencing showed more rapid learning of the association between audio and electrical stimuli. There were differences between heifers in the speed of associative learning, perhaps due to individual differences in the significance of the audio cue, the aversive nature of the electrical stimulus, or the animal’s motivation to feed. Ethically acceptable virtual fencing requires that all animals learn quickly how to interact with the technology. The technology and training protocols may require continual refinement to account for individual differences in learning.