Virtual Reality Boosts Animal Welfare Training In Vietnam and Indonesia
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The livestock export industry has launched a virtual reality (VR) training tool as the latest innovation to support animal welfare training in Indonesian and Vietnamese abattoirs.
Australian regulations require that animal welfare standards be met from the farm gate to the point of slaughter overseas.
The industry creates, delivers, and supports training programmes in destination countries to drive continuous improvement, with over 3,000 participants in Indonesia alone by 2023.
The new training tool employs a modern headset and hand-held controllers to create an interactive, engaging, and highly realistic virtual environment in which abattoir staff can learn best practices in stunning cattle and gain confidence before training with a live animal.
The Livestock Export Research and Development Programme, which is funded jointly by LiveCorp and Meat & Livestock Australia, provided funding for this project.
According to LiveCorp CEO Wayne Collier, the presence of Australian exporters in Indonesia and Vietnam has allowed for long-term conversations on animal welfare that would not have occurred otherwise.
“One of the outcomes is the significant use of pre-slaughter stunning, as well as improved animal handling and slaughter practices generally,” Mr Collier said.
"In Indonesia, for example, more than 90% of abattoirs processing Australian-bred cattle use stunning, and Vietnam recently adopted animal welfare standards that promote stunning as best practice for both local and Australian-bred cattle."
“Some abattoirs only process a few animals a day, so finding opportunities for training can be challenging. The VR training tool can be used for new staff, as well as checking and refining techniques for existing staff."
“From discussions during the demonstrations, it also has the potential to extend the industry’s animal welfare influence well beyond live export supply chains, including into universities teaching veterinary science.”
The VR tool includes safety information as well as step-by-step instructions for preparing and using the stunning equipment, allowing participants to review the process as many times as they want before putting their skills to the test.
The users' perspectives can be mirrored on an external screen, allowing trainers to review and offer additional assistance.
One of the demonstrations was held at Forum AWO, a group of animal welfare officers from Indonesian feedlots and abattoirs that receive Australian-bred cattle.
Pak Ismail Alim, the Forum AWO Chair, was impressed with the VR training tool.
“This training system will give us the ability to familiarise trainees with the principles of effective stunning practices without the necessity of involving live animals."
Trials are currently underway in Vietnam to collect data on the performance of abattoir trainees using the VR headset in order to determine its efficacy in improving stunning accuracy when compared to traditional training methods.
The insights gained from demonstrating the tool to a diverse range of stakeholders will inform future refinements to maximise its relevance and effectiveness.
(Source: Beef Central)