Virtual fencing introduced for grazing Mendip cows

A virtual fence has been introduced at an area of outstanding natural beauty to help keep grazing cows safe.

The Nofence system works via an app and has been introduced at the Mendip Hills in Somerset by the National Trust, where 60 cows at Crook Peak have been given solar-powered GPS collars.

If cattle approach the virtual boundary, they are alerted by a musical tone and if they persist, they are then deterred by a weak electrical pulse.

Lilly Dawson, Mendip Project Manager for the National Trust, said: "It's amazing really. It's revolutionising our job."

It is hoped the use of the technology, which is funded by the Mendip Landscape Project and the National Grid, will keep cattle away from busy areas and direct them to graze in areas where rangers can monitor the impact on the protected limestone grassland.

Ms Dawson said it means they can keep the cattle in places where there's a lot of food, moving them on "quickly and easily" once they feel they've grazed the area enough, without having to re-fence.

It also means Rich Brinson, grazier on Crook Peak, can respond to welfare concerns much quicker as the app alerts him when there is a problem and he can use its GPS to locate the animal.

"It enables us to move the cattle on knowing there will be enough for them to graze which is important for their health," he added.

A recent government report said cattle typically experience shocks from traditional electrical fencing and that low-level shocks from the virtual fencing collars had the "potential to maintain or improve livestock welfare".

Ms Dawson told BBC Radio Somerset the pulse only had to happen a "couple of times because of their herd mentality".

"Once one of them experienced it, the others in the group learned from them. We were pleasantly surprised about how infrequent it was that they would go past the musical boundary," she added.

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