Wearable sensor technology for livestock including ear tags, collar sensors, and boluses enables continuous welfare-relevant monitoring that traditional inspection cannot provide.
Wearable sensor technology for livestock represents one of the most promising areas for continuous welfare monitoring at scale. Unlike periodic manual inspection, sensors provide continuous data streams that can detect welfare problems at their earliest stage, enabling intervention before conditions become severe. Accelerometers can detect subtle gait changes indicating early lameness; rumination sensors flag metabolic disruption before a cow becomes visibly ill; temperature monitoring detects fever and heat stress in real time. The welfare impact of this technology depends critically on response protocols: sensors only improve welfare if the alerts they generate trigger timely stockperson action. Integration of sensor data with farm management systems and welfare decision support tools is the next frontier.