Precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies use sensors, cameras and algorithms to monitor individual animal behaviour and health in real time, enabling earlier intervention and improved welfare outcomes at scale.
PLF technology represents a welfare opportunity: earlier detection of disease, injury and behavioural abnormality means earlier intervention and less suffering. The technology is not inherently welfare-positive, however - it requires interpretation by welfare-aware farmers and must be used to trigger welfare responses rather than purely production interventions. A lameness detection algorithm that flags cows for examination is welfare-positive; the same data used only to optimise culling decisions is not. The integration of positive welfare indicators (rest time, play, social behaviour) into PLF monitoring, alongside negative indicators, would represent a meaningful advance in welfare assessment at scale.