Moo-ving Conservation Forward: CIE Tours Helps Fund Musical GPS-Collared Cattle Initiative in the Burren
MORRISTOWN, NJ (October 2, 2025) – One of the first projects supported by CIE Tours’ Sustainability Action Fund is already making a difference in the Burren, an iconic Irish landscape along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, now benefitting from a tech-powered conservation initiative known as ReFarm Burren.
Featured on many CIE Tours’ itineraries, the Burren is a rare and fragile limestone landscape home to striking landscapes like the famed Cliffs of Moher, archaeological monuments, and a farming tradition that dates back over 6,000 years. The area is also a UNESCO Global Geopark and has been designated a Special Area of Conservation by the European Union. The preservation of this environment depends on continued grazing, which helps prevent overgrowth that could threaten biodiversity and heritage sites located there.
With funding from CIE Tours, the leading tour operator to Ireland and Britain, and other partners, ReFarm Burren has provided roughly 15 local farmers with “no-fence” GPS collars that allow them to manage grazing zones virtually through a mobile app. When livestock approach a virtual boundary, the collars emit musical tones to alert the animals, followed by a mild electrical pulse if they continue. The cattle quickly learn to respond, enabling targeted, low-impact grazing without the need for physical fencing.
The Sustainable Action Fund is part of CIE Tours’ wider commitment to responsible tourism, supporting the communities, cultures, and natural environments that make travel meaningful for its guests. ReFarm Burren exemplifies that mission, using smart technology to strengthen biodiversity, sustainable traditional farming, and preservation of cultural heritage in one of Ireland’s most distinctive regions.
“It’s hard not to smile when you hear about cows trained by music, but this is exactly the kind of forward-thinking, community-rooted project our Sustainability Action Fund was designed to support,” said Stephen Cotter, Managing Director of CIE Tours. “It’s a perfect example of how small investments in local innovation can have a big impact on preserving the places our guests love to visit.”
Developed in partnership with Trinity College Dublin, Burrenbeo Trust, and others, ReFarm is part of a growing national effort to promote “farming for nature” practices across Ireland. To date, more than one million dollars have been raised to support biodiversity initiatives such as wildlife ponds, hedgerows, woodlands, and research.
The project also addresses challenges facing the agricultural sector in rural Ireland making farming more efficient and appealing to a younger generation through accessible, app-based tools.
For more information on CIE Tours’ sustainability initiatives and additional beneficiaries across its destinations, visit: www.cietours.com/responsible-tourism. To learn more about ReFarm Burren, visit: www.refarm.ie
About CIE Tours
Since 1932, CIE Tours has been the premier tour operator for Ireland and Britain vacations, earning a reputation for excellence rooted in its signature Irish hospitality. In more than 90 years of operation, the Morristown, New Jersey-based company has taken more than three million travelers on the vacation of their dreams. Expertly crafted vacations to Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Iceland, Italy, and Spain suit every travel style and taste - from the camaraderie of guided coach tours and custom group travel to small group departures and private driver experiences. Self-drive vacations, and most recently, walking & hiking tours, are available exclusively in Ireland.
Only CIE Tours offers the “CIE Tours Inclusive Advantage”which guarantees that every experience on your itinerary and most meals are included, so there are never any hidden expenses. Above all, the genuine warmth and expertise of its guides shines through, with guest satisfaction ratings of 95%. CIE Tours is committed to protecting the heritage, cultural diversity, and economic prosperity of the communities in which they travel, live, and serve. Learn more about CIE Tours’ Responsible Tourism Policy at https://www.cietours.com/responsible-tourism. For more information on CIE Tours, visit www.cietours.com.
Contact:
Shannon Overholser
Redpoint
212-229-0119
