Macropods and fencing
Unlike most other species affected by barbed wire, macropods (mostly kangaroos and wallabies) commonly get caught in plain, barbed or mesh fences. They attempt to jump a fence, miss the top, and the leg or sometimes both legs pass between the top wire and the next one down. The body then flies forward over the top and as it falls towards the ground, the legs act like a stick in the wires, pulling the top wire over the one under and effectively pinching the leg(s) in tight. If the fence is high or the roo is small the body may be suspended off the ground; if the roo is bigger or the fence is lower the body may be partially on the ground. Either way the result is the same – no hope of rescue without assistance – the animal dies slowly of capture myopathy (fear response) or dehydration or sometimes foxes or dogs come along and eat them alive.
The solution depends on the type of domestic animals that the fence is designed to keep in, or if your intention is to keep the kangaroos out (exclusion). A number of different approaches are discussed below.
Kangaroos will usually jump a fence in a near vertical fashion from as close to the obstacle as possible. To prevent kangaroos from attempting to jump a fence in the first instance, the fence should be at least 1.8 m high. Increasing the width of the barrier will deter a kangaroo from trying to jump across it. A cost-efficient option may be the use of a fence that leans at 45 degrees into the paddock, with or without live wiring. Kangaroos-and-Wallabies
“The wire crush injuries are usually on the foot itself. Sometimes they don’t look too bloody or open but be assured that they will get worse before they get better. The crushing pressure destroys the tissues which die and slough off over the next few days usually leaving exposed bone. Any fencing that allows them to go under rather than over is best.”
Fence hanging injuries include dislocation of the hip from all the pulling with associated swelling in the upper leg.
One suggestion for macropod-friendly fencing for containing sheep:
” The best fencing is a solid panel of chicken wire (as the hole profile is too small for a leg to go through) with one plan wire above. If the leg goes between, the chicken wire prevents the top wire twisting. Single strand wires are reasonable if the top wire and the next one down are far apart (like maybe 2 feet apart)”
This section of fence trapped 3 kangaroos over a period of 1 year. All the kangaroos were about 2 years old. The offending section of fence seemed to be a crossing point for kangaroos. The top strand was too high for this size roo, and the bottom strand too low for them to get under. Interestingly the roos continued to cross at this point after removal of the fence, some of them actually jumping over the non existing fence for some time afterwards. The fence was a very well constructed highly tensioned standard 6 strand wire fence with “spreaders” spaced regularly.
Kangaroos are usually creatures of habit and will return to areas of fencing that they know are weak, have been pushed through underneath or been knocked down. One solution can be to make entrances for kangaroos by using old tractor tyres, cutting away one third of it and burying the ends in the ground, forming an arch. The tyre arch needs to be partially buried for support as the kangaroo passes through it. These tyre arches can be placed along the fencing where it is known that kangaroos pass through. This simple practice also deters livestock like sheep, preventing them from escaping. Kangaroos that jump over fences are nearly always caught by the top strainer wire and will eventually die from shock and starvation. These carcasses will attract flies and feral animals such as foxes on to the farm land. Foxes will subsequently prey on the lambs and injured sheep will be affected when flies lay eggs in open wounds, becoming fly blown or fly struck. The tyre arches will therefore benefit both the farmer and the kangaroo (Lander, C. (2003) Wildlife Education at Roo Gully Wildlife Sanctuary, W.A.)”
Photo (above): A kangaroo swing gate, made commercially in Western Australia by Landcare SJ. These gates allow free movement for kangaroos whilst minimizing fence maintenance related to roo damage.
Photo (left): This photo was taken in Namibia, but tyres like these have been advocated as a solution in Australia.
Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network have an excellent Wildlife-Friendly-Fencing-Brochure brochure that includes macropod fencing.
Western Australia’s Department of Environment and Conservation has a handout Fencing and gates to reduce kangaroo damage.
This factsheet has good information about macropod gates but also mentions shooting and sloping electric fences which we do not support. Animals caught on the wrong side of a sloping electric fence are in real trouble.
Ross Thompson’s fixed access point for kangaroos on his farm near Orange. “….they are nothing special. All that happened was I got sick of trying to stop the roos damaging my fences. So where they had made their main holes in the fence, rather than letting the netting hole get bigger and bigger and allowing domestic stock to get in and out of my neighbours, we simply welded three 1/2 iron posts in a square shape, banged the assembly into the ground in the fence line, and tied the netting off around it. So the effect is a small, say 2 x 2′ square in the fence which the roos just hop through as required. Because it is flat, rather than dome shaped at the top, they probably scrape their backs a bit when they are pressured, but I doubt it worries them too much. By making it a little difficult it also deters calves from sneaking through…With a couple of these in the fence line, literally hundreds of Eastern Greys migrate between paddocks daily and make no impact on the rest of the fence.”
Contact a wildlife carer ASAP to attend and free such an animal. The damage done to the fence suggests even worse damage to the animal and euthanasia likely to be the only option. Do not attempt to free the animal yourself as it can pose risks to both you and the animals health and well-being. With most entanglements happening at night, animals can be entangled for a large number of hours before being noticed with light in the day. Please check fences early in the morning and act immediately if an entanglement is spotted.
A simple solution for over-abundant Burrowing Bettongs
Learn more about this project to develop a gate for the over-abundant Burrowing Bettongs at the the Arid Recovery Reserve. A study looked at the number of bettongs investigating the gates, the influence of gate placement, how to optimise gate use via a food lure, the sex ratio of departing bettongs and also the distance travelled by a bettong to access the gate. Bettongs were cage trapped as they exited the gate to see if there was a bias in the animals that were using the gates. Also, radio collars were affixed to some bettongs before releasing them back into the Reserve in order to record the distance a bettong travelled to access a gate from their home territory.
Excluding macropods safely?
We highly recommend a 2018 Victorian government pamphlet on management strategies for Kangaroos-and-Wallabies which discusses the many factors and solutions involved when thinking of fencing options for macropods. For example, it’s prudent to consult with neighbours, as exclusion of macropods from your property may mean increased impacts on theirs. You may be able to agree to a communal approach, allowing you to share the cost of building a fence or to consider fencing a cluster of adjacent properties. A landscape scale approach may be useful but thought must be given to suitable habitat and free access for the macropods to find food/water if they are excluded. We discuss this more fully here on this website, and below.
Photo (right): Protective Fencing Australia’s specialised kangaroo exclusion fence system installed along the Tuggeranong Parkway in Canberra to prevent motor vehicle accidents, offering safety for people and roos.
Kangaroos are often targeted by the use of exclusion fencing. In fact, the NSW Government considers exclusion fencing as a form of kangaroo “management” that “gives landholders complete control of grazing pressures” and “provides opportunities for coordinated management of kangaroos and pests across neighbouring properties… to maintain a stable managed kangaroo population across a large area.” Which animals are impacted by exclusion fencing depends on the height of the fence and the size of the mesh used. As one of the largest native animals in Australia, kangaroos are particularly prone to being trapped or injured by fences. According to the NSW Government, exclusion fencing provides “total control of kangaroo movement”.
The fences don’t only stop the movement, they contain the animals, particularly when it comes to cluster fencing. Trapped in a specific area, or trapped within the fence itself, animals also die from exposure, dehydration, starvation, stress, and predation. Trapped within barbed wire fences, animals can also suffer painful wounds and die of exposure. RSPCA is concerned about animals prone to entrapment like emus and kangaroos, but also smaller animals like wallabies, echidnas and goannas. Exclusion fencing is an even greater risk to animals fleeing stressful environments, as they are more likely to injure themselves if the attempt to move through a fence when being chased, desperately seeking food and water, or trying to escape from bushfires or human threats. The Animal Justice Party agrees. The suffering of animals trapped in and around exclusion fencing is of increasing concern given exclusion fences are sturdier and longer than ever, meaning fence boundary checks are far and few between and the animal is rarely found and assisted.
Go here on this website for an expanded discussion of exclusion fencing.
Fencing for climate crises
Fencing puts extra pressure on wildlife when crises such as flood, drought and fire arise. They prevent wildlife getting to safety.
Gail Gipp, Australian Wildlife Hospital, has a similar opinion:
“The fencing that causes the most incidents of kangaroos being hung up is goat fencing wire. It has large about 15cm square holes. Young joeys that are no longer pouch bound go after mum and can’t make the height, their leg goes through the hole and the square flips and entraps them. For other kangaroos, it’s two strands of top wire – same thing their foot gets caught as they go over, the wire flips and their leg gets stuck. In joeys up to 10kg we have had reasonable success. It is usually torn ligaments rather than breaks, but it takes months to heal and you have to strap the leg, the same as a sports injury in humans. Any fencing that allows them to go under rather than over is best.”
… and finally a positive story
” I heard recently from my aunt and uncle who live in the Coorong. They were out walking one morning and disturbed accidentally a wild mob of western greys which took off over a large fence. Except a little at-heel joey could not make it over the fence and he tried and tried but couldn’t clear it and kept smashing into it. My aunt and uncle beat a hasty retreat to avoid spooking them further and watched from a distance. The little joey was becoming very distressed. All the adult roos, including a massive male were waiting on the other side of the fence for the joey to make it over but despite many attempts it was too high for it. So, one by one, every roo in the mob jumped back over the fence to join the joey and they then, as a group, led the joey further down the fence line where there was an open gate and that way the whole mob was able to continue on its way. I just love that story.” Kerry Colmer
