U-Net-Based Approaches for Biometric Identification and Recognition in Cattle

Biometric identification in animals, which provides unique identification/recognition of animals by utilizing their physical characteristics, has become an important tool in modern agriculture and livestock sectors [1] .These methods include fingerprint recognition, facial recognition [2] , retina scanning [3][4][5] , nose prints [6] , body patterns [7] , and DNA profiling [8] .These methods give each animal a unique identifier, facilitating easy detection in cases of loss or theft.Biometric identification in animals offers significant benefits not only in cases of loss but also in areas such as health monitoring, reproduction control, and feed consumption tracking [9] .One of the main advantages of biometric identification is that it does not negatively impact animal welfare.Traditional methods have been used for animal identification and recognition up until now.These traditional methods include ear notching, ear tattoos, branding, freeze marking, and ear tagging [10] .Traditional methods can cause stress in animals, increase the risk of infection, and even subject them to physically traumatic procedures.Ear tagging is still widely used for animal identification and recognition [11] .This method involves attaching unique numbered tags to the animals' ears.However, ear tagging has numerous disadvantages.For instance, the process can cause infections or irritation in the animals' ears.Animals may experience stress, negatively affecting their production efficiency.If the animal moves its head during tagging or an issue arises, it can result in can result in torn ears.Additionally, animals can snag their tags on fences or other objects, leading to ear injuries.Moreover, the ear tagging method has environmental drawbacks.Tags frequently fall off, contributing to plastic waste and environmental pollution.The loss of tags necessitates re-