Fences are widely used in the UK to form barriers and mark boundaries. However, did you know that they can also caused issues for wildlife?

In 2020 we had a few cases brought into our Raptor Hospital of Barn Owls having been found caught up in barbed wire fences. Barbed wire is usually used to keep livestock contained in fields, with the sharp metal barbs reminding cattle and sheep that they should stay on their side of the fence. To livestock, the barbs are less likely to cause damage to their thick hides unless the animals are driven into the fence (in the case of panic through being chased).

Barbed wire fences should be kept taut, which means that even a large animal should merely “bounce” off them if they do charge. However, farmers move livestock between fields and some fences may not be regularly checked or maintained. A broken fence post or a lost staple can leave the barbed wire loose. For livestock, this could mean it gets wound up around their legs, and cause damage as they try to escape. However, livestock are checked regularly and any injuries would be dealt with and treated, and hopefully the offending fence fixed.

For wildlife, any injuries are likely to go unnoticed until it’s too late. In the case of birds, they can get tangled in the loose wire, panic and in an attempt to get away cause more damage as the barbs cut their delicate skin. This was the case in all the cases we had last year.

Unfortunately, for most of the owls, they were too badly injured by the time they came in to us and the kindest thing to do was to euthanise them to end their suffering. However, we were fortunate that one did make a full recovery, thanks to the dedication of our specialist vet, so was able to release it a short time back.

There is nothing better than seeing a Barn Owl flying out over a field after release, especially one that was so horrifically injured when it first came in to us.

Fences in urban areas can also cause issues for one of our favourite mammals, the Hedgehog. This species has declined drastically in recent years and last year we wrote how it had been listed as vulnerable to extinction in the UK (https://www.owl-help.org.uk/blog/2020/8/10/hedgehogs-classed-as-vulnerable-to-extinction)

As their name suggests, Hedgehogs are typically associated with hedges, which were traditionally used to mark boundaries and contain livestock. With increased demand for food, and hedges taken up more space and maintenance than fences, massive swathes of them have been ripped out of rural Britain to create larger fields for crops. The loss of hedges has meant suitable habitat and food sources have been depleted for Hedgehogs, as hedgerows support a community of species from plants and insects to mammals and birds.

In towns and cities we have fenced ourselves into our gardens and removed much of the natural surface in preference for easy, low maintenance paving or decking. This not only removes the natural food sources for wildlife (plants which produce nectar and pollen, seeds and fruits) but also places for them to live (insects need vegetation to lay eggs on and soil for their young to pupate and hibernate in).

In addition to this, fences create barriers, and the solid base found on many boundaries restrict movements of animals like Hedgehogs, who struggle to find food, shelter and mates in ever smaller territories.

To raise awareness of this, an organisation called Hedgehog Street was launched and developed a Hedgehog Highway idea, encouraging home owners to cut a small hole in the bottom of their fences to allow Hedgehogs to move around and get access to new gardens. For more information on this, please visit: https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-your-garden/