Wednesday, 17 August 2022
DairyListenOpinionSheep and BeefRural PropertyHorticultureVideo
InvercargillKaikouraReeftonWestportBlenheimNelsonMotuekaWellingtonMastertonGreymouthHokitikaGoreDunedinQueenstownOamaruWanakaTimaruAshburtonChristchurchParaparaumuLevinPalmerston NorthRotoruaWhakataneHamiltonTaurangaThamesAucklandDargavilleWhangareiTokoroaTe KuitiWhanganuiDannevirkeHastingsNapierNew PlymouthGisborneTaupoTaumarunuiKaitaia
NZ HeraldThe Northern AdvocateThe Northland AgeThe AucklanderWaikato HeraldBay Of Plenty TimesRotorua Daily PostHawke's Bay TodayWhanganui ChronicleThe Stratford PressManawatu GuardianKapiti NewsHorowhenua ChronicleTe Awamutu CourierVivaEat WellOneRoofDriven MotoringThe CountryPhoto SalesNZ Herald InsightsWatchMeGrabOneiHeart RadioRestaurant Hub

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
The Country

App helps farmers report unattended livestock in a disaster

3 Oct, 2019 08:45 PM3 minutes to read
Livestock owners are able to register their unattended animals with Ema. Photo / File

Livestock owners are able to register their unattended animals with Ema. Photo / File

The Country

Farmers who have to leave their animals due to a disaster, can now register their herds via an AI chatbot called Ema for Animals.

Situate Me, the emergency management crowd-sourcing specialist behind Virtual Disaster Assistant Ema, launched the new animal welfare add-on at the 58th New Zealand Institute of Animal Management conference in Wellington last month.

Livestock owners who are not on the farm, or have to leave when disaster strikes, are able to register their unattended animals with Ema.

The Situate Me team with Mac the huntaway. Photo / Supplied
The Situate Me team with Mac the huntaway. Photo / Supplied

Ema takes the farmer through a series of questions to establish species, stock numbers, gender and special needs, as well as any dangerous and anti-social characteristics.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Farmers are also able to give location details of feedlots, water troughs, loading pens and other resources on their farm, which would assist emergency responders when attending to their livestock.

From a cloud-based dashboard, local authorities and government departments who have installed the platform can gauge the scale of the operation in advance of heading into a disaster zone.

Emergency responders can view mapped data to assess the extent of the unattended animal issue and plan how best to prioritise check-ups, feeding, milking, rescue and relocation.

Rob Gourdie, Situate Me's co-founder, said the unattended animal bot, which was a first for the emergency management industry, would transform the animal welfare effort in an emergency situation.

Ema for Animals' responder dashboard for livestock. Photo / Supplied
Ema for Animals' responder dashboard for livestock. Photo / Supplied

He added that the operational impact of Ema's help for authorities would be huge.

"Ema for Animals captures livestock data at the moment it is actually needed and Ema's questions can be adapted 'on the fly' to gain specific details on behalf of the emergency responders.

Related articles

Innovation Lab support for Whanganui teen's business

09 Sep 05:00 PM

Comment: GM not the only path to low methane grass

25 Sep 12:30 AM

Training dogs to avoid kiwi attacks

25 Sep 11:11 PM

Regenerative agriculture - context is everything

03 Oct 02:45 AM

"This avoids the overhead of trying to maintain the integrity of a very large set of data over the years, for the day it is finally needed. Experience has shown that confidence in historical data in emergencies is often quite low and often ignored in favour of more immediate ways of gathering data," said Gourdie.

Hundreds of farmers could enter information about affected livestock simultaneously with Ema, and the data would be up-to-the-minute accurate.

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

"For livestock owners, Ema for Animals fulfils a significant emotional need. The extra stress and anxiety that worrying about livestock and livelihood adds to an emergency situation cannot be underestimated," said Gourdie.

Ema for Animals' responder dashboard for pets. Photo / Supplied
Ema for Animals' responder dashboard for pets. Photo / Supplied

"Importantly, being able to quickly register unattended livestock may prevent concerned animal owners from breaking through cordons and putting themselves in danger in an attempt to reach their animals."

Situate Me said it was now inviting local councils and emergency management groups to evaluate the unattended animal situational awareness tool with a view to including it in their preparedness resources.

Emergency groups, as well as livestock owners, can find out more about the animal welfare resource – which also includes a register specifically for unattended pets – at www.situateme.com/animalwelfare.

GET THE BEST RURAL NEWS. SIGN UP FOR THE COUNTRY NEWSLETTER

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

The Country

NZPork's alternative proposals to improve pig welfare

17 Aug 01:59 AM
The Country

GDT prices fall for the fifth time in a row

17 Aug 01:35 AM
The Country

The Country Full Show: August 17, 2022

17 Aug 01:30 AM
The Country

Pump station upgrade first shovel-ready project complete

17 Aug 12:44 AM
The Country

Free spot checks help early detection

17 Aug 12:00 AM

Most Popular

Weather: State of emergency declared for the West Coast
The Country

Weather: State of emergency declared for the West Coast

16 Aug 08:20 AM
Rare red warning issued for South Island as almost a metre of rain forecast
The Country

Rare red warning issued for South Island as almost a metre of rain forecast

16 Aug 01:11 AM
Premium
Whitebaiting season drops from 15 weeks to nine, concerns spots could be crowded
The Country

Whitebaiting season drops from 15 weeks to nine, concerns spots could be crowded

15 Aug 05:00 PM

Advertisement

Advertise with NZME.
About NZMEHelp & SupportContact UsHouse RulesSubscribe to NZ Herald
Manage Your Print SubscriptionNZ Herald E-EditionAdvertise with NZMEBook Your AdPrivacy Policy
Terms of UseCompetition Terms & ConditionsSubscriptions Terms & Conditions
© Copyright 2022 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP