Influence of virtual fence on heart rate response in beef cattle

Abstract

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  Virtual fence (VF) technologies can aid cattle producers in applying grazing management for land resource objectives.
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  Acute stress and animal welfare are important factors to consider when adopting VF on rangelands.
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  VF did not cause increased heart rate (HR) to mature, lactating beef cows when receiving audio or electric cues during a 30-minute period.
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  Increased HR was observed when cattle interacted with the electric cue boundary, but HR typically returned to levels observed during a control period within 30 seconds to 4 minutes.
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  Overall, VF caused minimal acute stress to the mature cows with calves and cattle learned to respond to audio cue warnings and avoid electric cues after being trained.