Our data suggest that using thermal imaging in this configuration to track animals improves animal welfare outcomes. Positioning the thermal operator and the shooter on the same side maximised target detection and dispatch and prevented wounded animals from escaping. The number of animals seen and escaped was reduced compared to previous studies  —only 9% of detected pigs and 16% of deer were seen and escaped, considerably fewer than for visually targeted deer where 24–31% were seen and escaped [48]. Additionally, the reported number animals seen and escaped during our study is potentially overestimated. When density is high, such as on the Limestone Coast, it is difficult to track all individuals in a group. During a shoot, individual deer would often leave the group or additional deer would be acquired. Without being able to identify animals individually, it is difficult to know if escaped animals are in fact seen and escaped, or whether they are reacquired as part of another group. For this reason, ‘seen and escaped’ data from the deer shoot are probably inaccurate. Similarly, for pigs, the number of seen and escaped animals is likely an overestimation. While some individuals were seen and escaped, often revisiting that area the next day would result in the removal of the same number of animals that were seen and escaped in the area the day before but it is likely that these were the same individuals.