Four first-year students are developing a collar for sheep which they believe could greatly reduce dog attacks.
Emma McCabe (13), who attends St Oliver's Post Primary School in Oldcastle, Co Meath, came up with the idea for the Sheep Watch collar when talking to her father, Derek, about the problem of sheep-worrying.
The collar has a pulse monitor and when the sheep’s pulse elevates above normal for a sustained period, the device sends a VHF signal to a GSM receiver. The farmer then gets a text to let him know his sheep are under stress.
Emma developed the idea with her friends Edel Campbell, Zoe Maguire and Ricardas Cepanauskas, and they entered it in the junior category of the Meath County Enterprise Competition and won.
They are now trying to raise €10,000 through the crowd-funding website Fund It to develop a prototype. Tallaght Institute of Technology is working with the students and they hope to have the product on the shelves for next year's lambing season.
Emma said their research on sheep behaviour had suggested that about one sheep in eight would need a collar, as the sheep tend to break into groups when disturbed. The collars will cost about €10 each while the accompanying transmitter box will cost €50.
Apart from the trauma caused by a dog attack, sheep attacks can cost thousands of euro. As well as sheep deaths, pregnant sheep can have miscarriages after the event.
Protection and saving
She said a local farmer estimated he had lost €3,000 after his sheep flock was attacked by dogs so this would save money in the long term. "The farmers who have looked into it are happy with the cost. Compared with the money they are losing, it's a small sum," she said.
“We are confident that it is a good idea and we have farmers looking to buy collars already.”
They have patented and trademarked their idea and have set up Sheep Watch website domain names in several countries.
She said the device could also be used to alert farmers when sheep are lambing.
The students have got the backing of Fine Gael MEP Maireád McGuinness, whose husband keeps sheep, and she has taken part in a video to promote the project.
Emma said her father had encouraged her to come up with inventions from a very young age.
“He said if I kept inventing things I would go very far one day and make lots of money.”
