An Internet of Things Framework for Monitoring Environmental Conditions in Livestock Housing to Improve Animal Welfare and Assess Environmental Impact

Devices for assessing the quality of animal environments are important for maintaining production animals, thus improving animal well-being and mitigating pollutant emissions. Therefore, an IoT system was developed and preliminarily assessed across various livestock housing types, including those for pigs, dairy cows, and rabbits. This system measures and transmits key parameters, such as ambient temperature; relative humidity; light intensity; sound pressure; levels of carbon dioxide, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide; and particulate matter and volatile organic compound concentrations. These data are sent from the sensors to a gateway and then displayed on a dashboard for monitoring. A preliminary evaluation of the system’s performance in controlled conditions revealed that the device’s accuracy and precision were within 2.7% and 3.3% of the measured values, respectively. The system was deployed in three case studies involving rabbit, pig, and dairy cow farms. The results demonstrated its effectiveness in assessing pollutant emissions and identifying critical situations where gas concentrations exceeded threshold levels, thus posing a risk to the animals. By systematically applying this technology on livestock farms to obtain a detailed understanding of the microclimatic and air quality conditions in which the animals live, animal welfare can be significantly improved.