Alternatives to 1080 Program: Project Officer Program Reports
Report 14: Electric Fence Trials
Background
Electrified fencing is regularly used for crop and pasture protection in Tasmania. However, it is
typically an expensive option. An Australian company (Clipex) has developed a new fencing pole to
allow the quick and cheap erection of an electrified fence mesh. The pole was developed for
livestock management, but the company considered it had potential for wildlife control and
approached the Alternatives to 1080 Program to undertake a collaborative trial to test the
effectiveness of the design in excluding wallabies.
Objectives
To trial Clipex fence poles to evaluate their effectiveness in a wallaby proof fence. Several fencing
mesh and fence design options were also trialled.
Methods
A site was selected near Waterhouse in north east Tasmania where wallabies were known to be
moving from neighbouring bush country onto pasture to browse.
Figure 1 Google Earth Image showing locations of Fence Sections
Several different fence designs were erected in the locations shown in Figure 1 and regularly
monitored between October and December 2008. The fence designs were:
An experimental 6-74-24 mesh (6 horizontal wires, 74cm high mesh, 24cm between vertical
wires), with a single strand of non-electrified barbed wire at the bottom;
A standard 6-70-30 hinge joint fence with a single strand of non-electrified barbed wire at
the bottom and no standoff
A standard 6-70-30 hinge joint fence with a single strand of non-electrified barbed wire at
the bottom and standoff
An experimental 6-74-24 mesh, with a single strand of non-electrified barbed wire at the
bottom and an electrified standoff outside the fence;
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A pre-existing hurricane mesh.
An experimental wire 6-74-24 mesh.
Video monitoring using Raymax 300 Infrared floodlights and video cameras was used to monitor
different sections of the fence as the trial progressed.
Results and Conclusions
The Clipex poles did not provide a viable wallaby-proof fencing option based on the results of this
trial. The poles were insufficiently robust and prone to breakages as a consequence of wallabies
testing and breaching the fence. The poles were found to be too light and thin in construction, which
resulted in several instances of them lifting out of the ground – particularly where they were under
tension – or levered up by animals forcing under the bottom wire.
Hurricane mesh was more effective then hinge joint mesh. Conclusions regarding the fencing mesh
tested in the trial are provided in Table 1.
Table 1. Suitability of different mesh types for wildlife browsing control
Mesh Type
6-70-30 Hinge Joint Fence
6-70-30 Hurricane Mesh
6-74-24 Mesh (experimental)
Comments
Not recommended. Not effective as there was too much sideways
movement under pressure, and the fence could concertina too easily
when animals pushed under it allowing subsequent future breaches.
Effective for wallaby. Some breaches but retained shape. Less effective for
possums which regularly breached this mesh by passing under it.
Unsuitable, not recommended. Wallabies able to force through or under.
The presence of barbed wire and stand-off wires had little impact on the effectiveness of the fence
designs used in terms of wallaby and possum proofing.
All the fence designs trialled were breached by wallabies and possums, either by forcing breach
points under the fence or through the mesh.
Attaching netting to the lower portion of the fence assisted fence effectiveness by (i) allowing the
mesh to be positioned further above the ground which helps prevent electrical shorting and energy
loss into the grass if the fence is electrified, and (ii) allowing more effective coverage of natural dips
and holes in the ground which animals typically exploit to breach fences. Consequently using netting
typically requires less ground preparation, however, it does significantly increase the cost of fencing.
Using a longer, heavier fence post – which has the facility to easily incorporate a rabbit wire mesh
with an electrified mesh above it – may be an effective option to stop fence-lines breaches by
wildlife.
Successfully electrifying mesh fences and maintaining a sufficiently high charge to provide a
deterrent to wallabies forcing their way through/under a fence was problematic. To prevent
breaches under a fence is a key issue for any electrified mesh; the distance to ground (and the
electric current shorting through grass) is a critical factor which affects the effectiveness of
electrified fences.
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