Michelle Reeves completed her TechCare-funded PhD by graduating on November 23rd 2024 from the University of Edinburgh and SRUC. Michelle’s thesis was entitled “Developing and validating animal-based welfare indicators for a Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) approach to small ruminant welfare management” and focuses on testing the potential of various digital technologies for monitoring sheep welfare in extensive farming systems. She identified possible behavioural indicators of disease and tested the efficacy of accelerometers and bluetooth proximity beacons to detect these indicators remotely. She conducted four experiments with live sheep in commercial conditions to observe behaviour and trial PLF technologies. Additionally, Michelle travelled to Norway to work with TechCare partner NIBIO on a study exploring the opinions of Norwegian sheep farmers on technology use. With her doctorate complete, Michelle is now working at the University of Edinburgh as programme coordinator for an animal welfare MSc programme and at SRUC as a postdoctoral researcher.
Michelle’s thesis is available here: Development and validation of animal-based welfare indicators for a Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) approach to small ruminant welfare management
