Cows controlled with GPS tracker which plays Waltzing Matilda

Farmers are controlling cows with a GPS tracker that plays Waltzing Matilda when they get too close to a virtual fence.

The musical warning has allowed farmers to track their livestock via an app in a unique scheme developed with an environmental charity.

Blue Carbon Farming in Steart, Somerset, has begun working with the Wildlife and Wetlands Trust (WWT) to allow cattle to graze in wetlands and saltmarsh for the first time in 30 years.

Andy Darch, 39, founded the company in 2023 with co-owners Matt Hilton and Sam Passmore, and says that the experience has been a "fantastic opportunity."

The areas had been previously thought to be too dangerous for cattle to graze, due to their treacherous terrain and proximity to the sea - but the farmers have begun utilising an app and NoFence collars to track the cows location and warn them away from danger.

If a cow approaches the "virtual fence" - the boundary determined by the farmers - its collar will play the tune Waltzing Matilda to warn it away from the area.