Wildlife Friendly Fencing

10/06/2026

05/06/2026

Thank goodness for Barry ♥️

Barry was on a late afternoon cycle in Plenty Gorge when he spotted this little one in the fence on his way home.
Calling him straight into Wildlife Victoria, the message went out.
I was already out looking for an injured Kangaroo, that I was wrapping up the search and I knew that Jen & Chelsea were only 5 mins from helping a Kangaroo that had been hit by car.

*Kookaburra caught in Barbed Wire Fence*

That’s not good…

Any animal trapped in a fence is an emergency.
A barbed wire fence makes the situation even more serious.
Every struggle, every attempt to free themselves, can cause devastating injuries.
Barry thought he had already passed away but as he got closer, the poor bird lifted his head.

Jen and Chelsea came along with me, as they hadn’t attended many bird entanglements before. Thankfully, I had some fantastic barbed wire rescue tools that Tamsyn from Fly By Night Bat Clinic had generously given me.
The tools slide over the barbs, allowing the wire to be carefully unwound without cutting the fence and with far less risk of causing further injury.

The little Kookaburra was safely removed and transported by Jen and Chelsea to Greencross Vet South Morang. From there, the veterinary team liaised with Healesville Sanctuary, and Linda very generously stepped in to transport him for specialist care.

I checked in today.

Unfortunately, the news wasn’t what we had hoped for.

The Kookaburra was euthanised due to injuries that could not be repaired. One of the major nerves controlling his wing had been severed, leaving no possibility of rehabilitation or release back to the wild.

But I am incredibly grateful that Barry stopped.

Grateful that he cared enough to make a call.

Grateful that this little bird didn’t spend hours, days, or even longer suffering alone in that fence.

Sadly, this may have been a very avoidable death.

Barbed wire fencing continues to injure and kill countless native animals every year.
Birds, bats, kangaroos, wallabies and so many others become entangled, often with tragic outcomes.

Please, if you see wildlife caught in a fence, don’t assume someone else will call.

Be like Barry.

One phone call may not always save a life, but it can prevent unimaginable suffering.

And sometimes, that call makes all the difference. ❤️

Thank you so much Jen Chelsea & Linda for all your help with this little darling.

26/05/2026

Great project

Project WireAware is still progressing and I am hoping to soon have some time to catch up with a couple of installations.
The latest one was kindly completed by William McInnes, who got in touch, and offered to do the work himself. I was happy to supply the tools and materials for around 150m of fencing on the edge of the property. You can see from the images that without that top strip of tape, the fence is almost impossible to see in daylight. This will now be seen clearly and avoided, most likely by nocturnal birds and gliders in this instance.
It is the top strand of barbed wire that entangles the vast majority of wildlife, highlighting this strand with white electrical tape makes it visible and avoidable by nocturnal wildlife such as bats, owls and gliders. The project aim is to offer the installation free of charge or supply the materials to install yourself.
Please get in touch if you are interested 🙏

21/05/2026

19/05/2026

𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐑𝐄

This little red flying fox died after becoming entangled on barbed wire fencing in White Mountains National Park. 🦇

This area is surrounded by Aussie hardwoods that blossom profusely, drawing flying foxes in large numbers at certain times of the year.

Barbed wire in known wildlife movement and feeding areas is a serious hazard. When animals are attracted to food sources, the risks multiply—and the consequences are fatal.

National parks should be leading the way with wildlife-safe fencing and infrastructure in high-use areas. These deaths are not inevitable—they are avoidable.

𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.

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.

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.