Table 1.

An overview of the benefits and challenges/limitations of machine-animal interactions for animals under human care as reported by workshop delegates. Additional points have been added in by the authors to further explain some of the reported comments. Quotes taken from the written notes made during the workshop are represented with single quotation marks. These have been used to provide examples of the points raised by participants

Benefits identified by workshop participants
Reduction of negative human–animal interactions (e.g. those which are potentially dangerous to humans and animals or cause conflicts), which gives scope for the remaining HAIs to be more positive for both humans and animals
Greater opportunity for animal choice/agency e.g. ‘Good for agency as animals get to choose milking’
Adding value to the animal
Challenges/limitations identified by workshop participants
In some industries animals are with humans for a shorter period of time which reduces familiarity with humans, this can then have consequences when humans are trying to work with the animals e.g. ‘Pig and poultry fast turnaround so less interaction with humans so harder to move them in abattoir’
Money/cost e.g. ‘Technology is expensive so farmers may have to have more cows to pay for them – this could then lead to higher stocking densities and potentially reduced welfare.’
Pressure to discard what is most appropriate for the animals e.g. ‘Huge pressure to discount view of animals because other things speak louder’ ‘An animal–centred approach is necessary … but is not always used.’
Lack of knowledge/public education and a lack of information or misinformation
Potential for technologies to go wrong or break e.g. ‘Technology is a tool but it can go wrong’, ‘Technology not doing what it should be doing’
Reduced opportunity for interactions with animals or reduced time spent with animals e.g. ‘If we replace all interactions then we may not see animals as much’
Potential barriers to uptake – but it is not necessarily known what those are
There may be a disconnect between the outcome and the animal
Technology could have negative impacts on the animal – e.g., when used as part of tracking ‘With wildlife, the use of technologies can often hamper reproductive success and even sometimes survival. There is a [sic] unwritten rule that the weight of the device should be no more than 5% of the body weight of the animal.’
Potential negative impacts when animals do need to interact with humans, if interactions have been reduced e.g. ‘If we increase machine interactions and reduce human–animal interactions, then it could have a negative impact when humans do need to be involved.’
Technology may be available but not always accessible, e.g. ‘AI technology available but needs lots of coding’