Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa (VAWA) has released the world’s first code of ethical conduct for virtual fencing, calling on manufacturers to form an industry association and set minimum standards for the technology.

Dr Helen Beattie, managing director of VAWA and co-author of the code alongside Mandy McLeod, says the work is prompted by a regulatory gap.

“Our key concern is that there’s no specific animal welfare regulation that relates to the use of virtual fencing technology, and given that the technology is rapidly expanding, we think that there should be better controls around that,” she says.

The VAWA recommendation is that manufacturers form a virtual fencing manufacturers association to self-regulate, as happened when electric fencing was developed.

“It would be protective for the industry, and it would be better for the animals.”

Beattie says the response from the sector has been mixed. Some manufacturers engaged constructively and helped improve the code; others told VAWA to “take a seat”.

The VAWA’s code covers animal welfare impacts, device design, telecommunications infrastructure, and the use of AI in product development. New Zealand regulations already prohibit collars that cause injury, but Beattie says transparency around injury data is lacking.

She says she has spoken with someone who has visited hundreds of farms using the technology.

“They would say that there are injuries on every farm, from minor calluses through to much more substantial injury.”

She says the industry shies away from describing the electric component as a shock. Animals receive audio cues before a shock is applied, but those that are non-compliant at the virtual perimeter will receive one.

“It obviously has to be aversive because otherwise they won’t learn, that’s the whole point.”

“100% it’s not a pulse, it’s a shock – we should just be really clear about that.”

When network access drops, collars retain their last setting and cannot be updated remotely, meaning animals can become locked in paddocks. She says the code recommends safety mechanisms that allow settings to be overridden, without dropping all virtual perimeters simultaneously.

“You can’t move them – if you lose connectivity with your communication network, the cattle are left with the last setting that was on their collar.”

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