Death by Barbed Wire

Dead Baillon's Crake

This week a Baillon's Crake, an uncommon species, was found hanging dead from the top strand of a barbed wire fence near Bli Bli on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. It clearly was flying over the fence when a leg was caught in a strand of barbed wire. Its death would have been slow and agonising. Needless to say, the bird would have lived if the fence strand was not barbed.

Large numbers of birds and mammals are killed when climbing or flying over or through barbed wire fences, especially the top strand. A critically endangered Night Parrot was found decapitated after flying into a barbed wire fence in 2006 in Diamantina National Park in western Queensland; that finding led to John Young's celebrated rediscovery of the species. Yet hundreds of kilometres of barbed wire fence from former grazing properties remain standing in national parks and other reserves.

Juvenile Night Parrot decapitated by barbed wire fence

I've reprinted below some worthy advice from WIRES Northern Rivers in NSW:

Each year hundreds of native animals become entangled in or “hung’ up on barbed wire. The suffering endured by these animals is unimaginable.

All species of native animals are vulnerable to this silent, lifeless predator. Flying Foxes, Sugar Gliders, Squirrel Gliders, Greater Gliders, all of these are found entangled, usually through the flying membranes, the damage done is generally severe, some do not recover and others are in care for extended time. Birds such as Tawny Frogmouths are often found on barbed wire.

In most cases they are caught by the wings, many breaking vital bones in a vain attempt to escape.

Many wallabies and possums, be it Ringtails or Mountain Brushtails, are also rescued from barbed wire, generally caught by the legs and all suffer horrific injuries. When an animal is caught, it will struggle in fear and pain; sadly this only serves to further entangle it in the barbs. In many cases the animal is not discovered for some time. Barbs will tear open flying membranes, rip skin and muscles, break wings on birds and legs on wallabies, leaving horrific wounds, which often become fly blown, and all too often prove fatal.

What can you do to prevent this occurrence? If you already have barbed wire fences, the top strand of barbed wire could be replaced with ordinary wire, this would help stop gliders, bats and birds being caught. An alternate method to stop flying animals being caught is to use old garden hose slit down its length, then slid over the top strand of the barbed wire. Strips of cloth or any shiny material, tied at intervals along the middle strand of fencing wire, is another way to help prevent injury by alerting both flying and running animals that the wire is there. The best method of all is simply to get rid of the barbed wire completely. If erecting a new fence please consider the alternatives to barbed wire.

If finding an animal on barbed wire, call WIRES immediately, do not try to free the animal yourself. If possible provide shade whilst waiting for a rescuer to arrive.

Wildlife Friendly Fencing (WFF) is a campaign encouraging landowners to manage fencing that is safe and effective for wildlife, people and livestock. Further advice for landholders can be found here. Thousands of animals die each year in the cruellest of circumstances due to barbed wire. These entanglements often leave members of the public and rescuers distressed due to the severity of the injuries to wildlife. Nocturnal animals such as bats, gliders and owls are particularly susceptible to this hazard and are often entangled when flying towards fruiting trees or dams and creeks close to barbed wire. Flying foxes are the most common victims of barbed wire. Tawny frogmouths are surprisingly common victims too, and just this week we had a crow brought into care from a barbed wire entanglement.

This Barking Owl had to be euthanised after being caught on a barbed wire fence - Wildlife Care NT  

We ask people to modify the fencing adjacent to these ‘hot spots’ by modifying those sections of fence in order to minimise the risk to wildlife. Often this involves relatively short sections of fence, so it’s easy to modify.

Firstly, we ask landowners to consider whether the barbed wire fence is necessary. Sometimes the fence no longer contains livestock so could be removed or replaced with plain wire. If the barbed wire fence is needed, you could cover the top strand in the hot spot zone with polypipe split longitudinally. WIRES volunteers can assist with this, with our nifty polypipe splitter and applicator. Just call us for more info. Consider replacing the top strand with plain wire, and when planning a new fence, consider whether barbed wire is really necessary.

Metallic Starling killed in Cairns - Cairns Post

Our patch of paradise is blessed with many possums and glider species, some endangered. They are common victims of barbed wire, so we ask landowners to plant trees to shorten the gliding distance between trees, no more than 20m apart. Wildlife corridors are critical for wildlife survival.

If you have old wire on the property that no longer has a purpose, please dispose of it and save a few lives in the process. We receive quite a few calls every year for wildlife entangled in piles of disused wire or netting. Our snake handlers sometimes have the task of very slowly and cautiously removing  snakes from discarded fencing.

Rare Mahogany Glider killed  near Cardwell - Daryl Dixon

For our carers the most heart wrenching rescues are those where the animal has barbs twisted amongst bone and membrane and it is a difficult process to remove the animal so that no further damage occurs. It is very important that you do not cut the animal in order to save the fence as one could only imagine the pain this would cause (I know it sounds silly but it happens). It is much better for the animal if you contact us before you try to remove the animal as pain killers from the vet are vital. These animals might have been on the wire for many hours, or sometimes days and are usually dehydrated and in severe pain, so do your best to make them as comfortable as possible whilst you await further instructions.

In relation to whether electric fences are a better option, Steve Grainger posted this comment on Facebook: Several large cattle stations in North Queensland have been replacing Barbed wire with Electric fencing. They move stock by switching off/on water points and use the Electric fence to prevent the stock roaming across roads etc. The water points and surrounding paddock is well grassed, so stock don't need to wander far. The Electric fence costs about 1/8 of the cost of hard wire.

Brown Goshawk killed on Atherton Tableland - Alarmy Stock