Robo-vaccination machine could hold key to tackling Britain's bovine TB crisis.
Tony Cholerton, a retired zookeeper turned inventor, has created a fully automated robo-vaccination machine called Autovacc that could revolutionize the way scientists and farmers combat bovine tuberculosis (TB) in cattle. The device can vaccinate badgers, as well as other captive carnivore species like Amur leopards, without the need for human intervention.
Cholerton's breakthrough came while working with a shy tiger at London zoo, which refused to take its vaccinations when keepers were present. He used his motorcycle engineering skills to create Robovacc, a machine that administers vital jabs from an adjacent room using a handset taken from remote-control toy aeroplanes.
The Autovacc machine uses three sensors to detect the proximity of an animal's rear end before injecting it with a vaccine. This technology has been tested on ring-tailed coatis and shows promise in deterring animals from entering tunnels, where they are vaccinated.
Several conservation scientists and charities that oversee badger vaccination have expressed interest in trialing Cholerton's Autovacc machine. However, critics argue that the device may not provide a measurable impact on bovine TB rates in cattle.
The use of badger vaccination has been contentious for years, with many arguing that culling the animals is necessary to control the spread of the disease. Nevertheless, some charities have successfully vaccinated badgers without harming them, and Cholerton believes that his technology can be used to prove the effectiveness of this approach.
"The dream is to see it used by scientists and farmers," Cholerton said. "This is about giving the scientists the means to show that the science is correct, and badger vaccination works. The farmers win because they have a means to solve the TB problem in cattle. Everyone wins."
Tony Cholerton, a retired zookeeper turned inventor, has created a fully automated robo-vaccination machine called Autovacc that could revolutionize the way scientists and farmers combat bovine tuberculosis (TB) in cattle. The device can vaccinate badgers, as well as other captive carnivore species like Amur leopards, without the need for human intervention.
Cholerton's breakthrough came while working with a shy tiger at London zoo, which refused to take its vaccinations when keepers were present. He used his motorcycle engineering skills to create Robovacc, a machine that administers vital jabs from an adjacent room using a handset taken from remote-control toy aeroplanes.
The Autovacc machine uses three sensors to detect the proximity of an animal's rear end before injecting it with a vaccine. This technology has been tested on ring-tailed coatis and shows promise in deterring animals from entering tunnels, where they are vaccinated.
Several conservation scientists and charities that oversee badger vaccination have expressed interest in trialing Cholerton's Autovacc machine. However, critics argue that the device may not provide a measurable impact on bovine TB rates in cattle.
The use of badger vaccination has been contentious for years, with many arguing that culling the animals is necessary to control the spread of the disease. Nevertheless, some charities have successfully vaccinated badgers without harming them, and Cholerton believes that his technology can be used to prove the effectiveness of this approach.
"The dream is to see it used by scientists and farmers," Cholerton said. "This is about giving the scientists the means to show that the science is correct, and badger vaccination works. The farmers win because they have a means to solve the TB problem in cattle. Everyone wins."
! Vaccinating animals without humans having to be there can reduce stress for both the animal & the vaccinator... like my kid when they get shots lol 
. Seriously though, if it can increase vaccination success rates especially for shy or fearful animals, that's a huge win for conservation & science. I'm all for giving scientists the tools they need to prove their methods work 
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just read that the UK's bovine TB crisis is still a major issue 
even with new tech like Autovacc on the way, which could vaccinate badgers without harming them 
guess we'll have to wait and see if it really makes a difference 
. I mean, imagine being able to jab badgers with vaccines without them even knowing what's happening 
. And it's not just about the badgers either - if it works on carnivores too, that's a huge plus! 
Just think of all the animals and humans who will benefit from this tech... I'm definitely rooting for Tony Cholerton's Autovacc machine to make some real waves in the scientific community 
! This robo-vaccination machine is literally a game-changer for tackling that bovine TB crisis in Britain. I mean, think about it - no more stressing out the badgers or other animals during vaccination sessions, and scientists can actually see if this method is working. It's all about progress and making things easier for everyone involved. Plus, the tech itself is just cool 
for tackling those bovine tb issues in britain!!! it's about time we got some tech innovation into agriculture don't get me wrong, culling badgers has its own set of problems but at least cholerton's trying to find an alternative way to tackle the disease and his machine sounds like it could be a real lifesaver for those poor cows 
the fact that his tech shows promise in deterring animals from entering tunnels where they're vaccinated is mind-blowing too! 
think bout how much money's gonna go into developin & maintainin these fancy machines when we should be lookin @ the root causes of the problem & workin on prevention not just treatment
Can you imagine having a robot vaccinator at your zoo visit? Like, "Hey, I'm not taking my tiger's shots, but Robo-vacc's got this" 
. The only thing I'd worry about is if Robo-vacc gets its own YouTube channel and starts doing animal vaccine challenges 
, we went to this tiny town in Wales and had the best fish and chips of my life 
. It was so good that I'm still dreaming about it 
. Anyway, back to this bovine TB crisis... I mean, have you ever seen a badger up close? They're so cool! 
. It's great that conservation scientists and charities are interested in trialing the device, and I'm curious to see how it'll make a difference in controlling the spread of the disease 
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. Fingers crossed this Autovacc machine becomes a reality and makes a real impact in the fight against bovine TB 
!
. PLUS, IT'S GOOD TO SEE CONSERVATION SCIENTISTS AND CHARITIES GETTING BEHIND THIS TECHNOLOGY - I HOPE IT DOES ACTUALLY PROVIDE MEASURABLE IMPACT ON BOVINE TB RATES IN CATTLE 
. It's all about giving people more options and making science-based solutions accessible to everyone 
. Tony Cholerton's invention might just be the key to ending the bovine TB crisis in Britain 
But yeah, I get what the critics are saying - it'll be interesting to see if this thing actually makes a difference in the long run 
But I do worry about the critics saying it might not make a difference in controlling bovine TB... maybe we need more tests and trials before we start using it on a large scale? 
, that's a win-win! Fingers crossed it works out 
This Autovacc thing sounds like more tech nonsense than actual science to me. And have you seen the stats on badger vaccination failure rates? It's not exactly a success story 
Plus, is this really going to make a dent in those bovine TB rates in cattle? I think we should wait and see how it plays out before getting too excited about "revolutionizing" animal health 