More than 200 little red bats have been badly injured on barbed wire fences in recent windy weather. Wildlife carers rescued them over three days and, sadly, many had to be euthanised.

The little red bats were caught on barbed wire fences in the Tumoulin, Gillies Highway, East Palmerston and Mareeba areas.

“Some of the fences were on ridgelines. The bats were trying to keep low, and out of the wind, and they smashed into fences,’’ Jenny from Tolga Bat Hospital says.  “Tumoulin near Ravenshoe is a real hotspot.”

Important pollinators of native tree species

These bats are roosting through the day in the Tolga Scrub. Little reds are the smallest flying fox in Far North Queensland. They mainly eat blossom and nectar from native trees and can travel 20 to 30km a night in search of food. They are important pollinators of native tree species, usually staying in one roost for four to eight weeks and then moving on.

Plain top wires on fences save lives

Seeing so many little reds tangled up in barbed wire has wildlife carers again talking up the importance of plain wire as the top wire in fences. The top wire of fences cause 86 per cent of entrapments.

“Swapping to plain wire saves lives – for bats and other native animals like owls and gliders,’’ Jenny says.

“Tolga Bat Hospital has been running a wildlife-friendly fencing project since 2006. It’s impossible to do nothing when you witness the suffering and loss of life from barbed wire fences in hotspot areas.”

Terrain NRM’s Tony O’Malley says landholders are adopting new solutions, including a more visible twisted plain wire, that minimise risks to wildlife while still being effective for farming.

“We have a new factsheet with a range of options – whether you’re putting in new fences or maintaining existing fences.

“Top strand options include barbless double-strand twisted wire (barbed wire without barbs) or plain wire.”

Mt Molloy grazier John Colless has switched to wildlife-friendly fencing and he rates it – both for his cattle and the native species living on Wetherby Station.

John is one of a growing number of landholders using plain wire as the top strand on barbed wire fences. He made the switch two years ago at his Brangus Stud.

“If a fence is tightly strained up, cattle tend to respect it. The top wire is really more about visibility – to give a fence height. We’ve had no problems with the cattle where we’ve put in wildlife-friendly fencing and we haven’t had any wildlife caught up in these fences.”

In the past, he says a barn owl, ibis and flying foxes had been caught in fences.

“They tend to hit the top wire. I’ve seen a barn owl tangled up after doing a 360-degree flip. I unwound him and took him to a vet who sutured the wing. I brought him back here and now we’ll sometimes see him sitting on the strainer post of an evening.”

Wildlife-friendly fencing wire

He says speaking with Jenny Mclean from the Tolga Bat Hospital led him down the path of wildlife-friendly fencing wire.

“She gave me a roll of two-strand twisted plain wire to try out. You get a bit more reflection with the kink in the two-strand twisted wire so it’s more visible than a single plain top wire.

“We’ve done some fencing around the cooler (where cattle are settled down before going into the yards), and in a timber paddock and we’ve just cut a paddock in half with new fencing. We’ve also run a fence along our boundary with Rifle Creek and added wetland fencing to improve native habitat.

“We had a 50-50 Landcare grant for the creek fencing. I wanted to keep the cattle out of there for ease of mustering and to let the rainforest regenerate.”

The wildlife-friendly twisted wire is compatible with traditional fencing equipment.

In our wildlife-friendly fencing series, we talk to James Howe from Howe Farming Enterprises about installing it in the Mareeba region.

“We fenced for biosecurity purposes and didn’t use a barbed wire on the top strand. There is nothing worse than seeing an owl hung up and broken-winged on barbed wire.

“It’s also for bats. Nothing deserves to die like that.

“We’ve got 10km of fencing to do now, to replace a 20-year-old fence that’s seen a few battles, and we’ll be replacing the top barbed wire with a straight wire there too.”

The top wire of fences causes 86 per cent of entrapments. At risk wildlife in Far North Queensland include masked owls, spectacled flying foxes, mahogany gliders, yellow-bellied gliders and greater gliders. They’re all endangered species.

Terrain’s Tony O’Malley says: “There are fencing options that can minimise risks to wildlife while still being effective for farming – and landholders are adopting these new solutions”.

We have a new factsheet with a range of options – whether you’re putting in new fences or maintaining existing fences.