Wildlife Friendly Fencing

Wildlife Friendly Fencing The wildlife friendly fencing project is raising awareness of the impact of fencing on Australian wildlife, and developing guidelines for good practice.

Wildlife friendly fencing avoids the use of barbed wire, but is safe effective fencing for wildlife, people and livestock. Barbed wire in particular is a major hazard for wildlife. Each year thousands of animals face a cruel death or permanent injury from entanglement on barbs, usually on the top strand. More than 75 wildlife species have been identified in Australia as occasional or regular victi

ms of barbed wire fences, especially nocturnal animals such as bats, gliders and owls. Many fail to see the fence, or cannot clear the height under windy conditions. Most of those rescued are too severely damaged to return to the wild. There are also other fencing hazards. Kangaroos get hung up in fences that are too high, whether plain or barbed, a situation made worse by the bottom strand of the fence being too low. Wetlands fenced too close to the waterline prevent wetland birds from landing or taking off, especially cranes. Barbed wire is both an animal welfare and conservation issue. It is recognised as a threatening process in the draft / recovery plans for a number of species. These include the Yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis), the Mahogany glider (Petaurus gracilis), the Spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) and Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalis). We seek a fundamental change in the approach to fencing, a change that considers the welfare of wildlife in the landscape. The project is looking to establish partnerships with a wide range of organisations to help promote and implement wildlife friendly fencing. These include wildlife rescue groups, natural resource management groups, all levels of government, fencing manufacturers, contractors and suppliers. There is no ongoing funding to run or coordinate the project. Tolga Bat Hospital was been awarded 2 grants, the first from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Federal Government’s NHT program in 2006, and the second a Community Action Grant from Caring for Our Country in 2010. We welcome donations to continue this work. All donations are tax deductible. We need your help
1. Familiarise yourself with the project through this website. Tell others.
2.Make your fences wildlife friendly and encourage others to do likewise.
3.Monitor fences in your local area and report any entangled animals in your area to your local wildlife group. You can find them at www.fauna.org.au Contact us if you find species that are not already on our list. Send us photos.
4.Give us your ideas on wildlife friendly fencing.
5. Help introduce wildlife friendly fencing into your community through appropriate channels eg Landcare or NRM groups. Please contact us for educational resources.
6.Support us by making a donation, or purchasing WFF promotional products - tshirts and car stickers. You can contact us by email info(at)wildlifefriendlyfencing.com or by telephone 07 4091 2683

02/05/2026

Escape hatches for wildlife 🐨🦘
A simple idea is making a life-saving difference in Moreton Bay.

The City of Moreton Bay has installed 49 escape hatches in key wildlife hotspots following a successful trial.

Designed by koala experts, these one-way exits help our native animals safely leave dangerous road corridors and return to nearby bushland, while preventing them from re-entering traffic.

Over the 12-month trial:
✅ Zero koala fatalities were recorded where hatches were installed
✅ Cameras captured koalas, echidnas, bandicoots and other native wildlife using them

Koala mating season (August - February) means more movement and road crossings for our endangered species, so this comes at a crucial time.

For wildlife carers, this brings real hope. Fewer callouts. Fewer injuries. Fewer devastating outcomes. More animals safely making it back to the bush where they belong.

With evidence these hatches work, we hope to see more councils adopt the technology and invest in safer solutions for wildlife.

Because protecting our precious wildlife takes all of us.

❤️ Thank you City of Moreton Bay for supporting innovations to keep our iconic wildlife safe.

📷 Photo credit: City of Moreton Bay

01/05/2026

Here’s my big rant for the week.
BLOODY BARBED WIRE should be banned. And for those who insist it be used, at least make sure the top wire is plain and not barbed. 80% of injuries and deaths to wildlife occur on the top strand! You can even run coloured tape across the top of the fence to make it more visible to wildlife. Or just get rid of the stuff all together!
This dear little Greater Glider (with a tiny pink in-pouch Joey) is in care with me, in a critical condition, after being found down near the Victorian border hanging on a barbed wire fence in a remote bush location. To be honest, I have grave fears she won’t make it. Severely dehydrated and stressed after who knows how long left hanging, and with damage to both her patagiums (gliding membranes) she faces months of rehabilitation if she gets through these early days.
Greater Gliders are an incredible little creature, a threatened species and the largest gliding mammal (at a whopping kilo). They eat only very specific species of eucalypt and even then, are incredibly picky.
So much gratitude to Sarah Dent who recognised she was a GG when driving past and her rapid recognition and response to get her off the fence so quickly, while also being mindful of managing her stress in a dreadful situation with no useful tools. Your quick thinking has made such a difference to helping save her precious life.
A huge thanks to an incredible village of amazing people from SONA and Wires, and Land Services and to Rodney from Snowy Mountains Wildlife Rescue, and to both Corryong and Walwa vet clinic. An incredible team effort to work through the logistics and work against the clock to get her what she needed and where she needed to be as fast as possible.
An amazing team effort.
Also thanks to GG whiz Rachel Lyons from Wildcare Queensland for her advice and help.
If anyone wishes to help, donations of freshly cut eucalypt leaf greatly appreciated. She’s looking pretty unimpressed with today’s offering of peppermint gum so we’re going to try some from a different tree.
Peppermint gum, Manna gum and Mountain gum.
And River red gum.

29/04/2026

Just got home from a 3.5h round trip to collect this little victim of barb wire. She thankfully hasn't done too much damage to her membrane. Will set her up with an appropriate diet of nectar and insects, all things she'd eat in the wild. No fruit.

Agh so frustrating that disused fencing out of sight and out of most people’s minds still poses a big risk to Australian...
18/04/2026

Agh so frustrating that disused fencing out of sight and out of most people’s minds still poses a big risk to Australian native wildlife. Thank you to Friends of Brisbane Ranges for your hard work in removing this hazardous fencing!

Our group has undertaken a lot of barbed wire removal over the years. It was a standard feature of the fence line around the old Barwon Water land, to dissuade public access. A lot was reinstated after the 2006 fire and we have slowly been plugging away at removing it, now that a lot of the fence borders a National Park rather than a protected water catchment.
One of the basic reasons we do this is to prevent wildlife injury and deaths. Unfortunately we haven't done it all yet and scenes like this may be occurring out of sight in places. This poor Krefft's Glider is an unfortunate victim of the barbed wire threat.

13/04/2026
09/04/2026
Great work from the team at NQ Wildlife Care who donated their time and $$$ to make this fence more wildlife friendly! W...
03/04/2026

Great work from the team at NQ Wildlife Care who donated their time and $$$ to make this fence more wildlife friendly! We can imagine that many future lives have now been saved and others suffering has been reduced by this intensive exercise! 🦇🦇

23/03/2026

We are looking to print some more Wildlife Friendly Netting brochures, get in contact with Tolga Bat Hospital if you are interested in joining the print run.

23/03/2026

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134 Carrington Road
Atherton, QLD
4883

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