[mrmanner]

> they do not prevent them falling into that river in the first place

The article explains pretty well how the devices prevent cows from falling into the river:

> Solar-powered GPS devices emit a high-pitched sound as the animal moves through a boundary zone towards the water, with a mild electric pulse delivered if it fails to turn around.

[DocTomoe]

So the cow learns there is a 'good zone' or a 'bad zone' to be in. And how does the cow - which now may be panicking - know it does not exit the 'bad zone' by, let's say, jumping into the river?

Applying human intelligence to bovines may be misguided.

[rcxdude]

They're not particularly dumb animals (similar to the average dog), generally they do get the idea pretty quickly. (There is a gradient of warning as they approach the edge of the zone, so it's not just suddenly a big shock)

[BenjiWiebe]

I'd compare their intelligence to cats, in that a dog uses its intelligence to please its owner, and a cat uses its intelligence to do whatever it pleases. :-)

[jadamson]

Someone below linked to a company providing this technology and it seems we do now have remote control cows (no panicking that I can see):

https://www.instagram.com/halterhq/reel/C_hq8_iSnCH/

[mschuster91]

It's inarguably smart, but... freaking dystopian.

[DocTomoe]

I ... honestly don't know if I should be impressed or horrified. Essentially, they have become cyborgs. Mootrons?

I stand corrected either way.

[HeyLaughingBoy]

[shrug]

Invisible Fence (https://www.invisiblefence.com/) has been a thing at least since the early 2000's when we had one for our dog.