The F-Word: 10 Years Behind Wire
Drive through sheep-producing areas, particularly in pastoral regions, and you'll see new exclusion fencing criss-crossing the landscape. It represents a huge investment aimed at reducing the impact of pest animals such as pigs and wild dogs on grazing businesses.
Farming organisations such as Queensland's AgForce worked hard to develop schemes that would provide solutions for landholders. Governments recognised the contribution that the sheep and wool industry made to local economies. As a result, Queensland has benefited from a number of programs delivered through all three levels of government to facilitate fencing projects.
The https://notjustafence.org/ website details the progress of the Queensland Feral Pest Initiative (QFPI), with an investment to date of more than $29 million, providing approximately one-third of the fence construction cost to landholders. This website is not exhaustive, as it does not record schemes provided through some shire councils and NRM groups or the many 100 per cent privately funded exclusion fences.
The site reports close to 10,000 km of exclusion fencing constructed through the QFPI alone. To help visualise this, a crow's-flight round trip from Melbourne to Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth, Adelaide and back to Melbourne (sorry, Hobart) is approximately 9,730 km.
Alongside such a huge rollout of new fencing have been advancements in fencing products, innovations in fencing equipment and techniques, upgrades by landholders to faster and safer equipment, and an employment boost during the construction phase.
I live near Longreach in western Queensland and was part of a cluster fence constructed in 2016. The term "cluster fence" was given to an exclusion fence that surrounded the aggregated boundary of several neighbouring properties.
Our cluster involved us joining with three neighbours for the construction of 138 km of fencing. Each member was responsible for building their section of the boundary. The design consisted predominantly of 15-150-15 netting with an apron, 240 cm pickets spaced at 7 to 8 metre intervals, a top barb wire, and strainers and end assemblies made from repurposed railway line or gas-drill stem.
To add value to our cluster, each of us has also installed exclusion fencing along our shared internal boundaries, so we are each now fully enclosed.
Farmers like to talk with other farmers about farming... but now it was fencing. With so much fencing occurring throughout the region at the time, conversations at social gatherings would inevitably turn to the sharing of designs, techniques and machinery options. Our spouses and children quickly grew weary of the topic, and the "F-word" in conversation soon became off-limits.
What has the fence meant for our business? Prior to 2016 we were on the edge of heavily wild dog-infested country but were still experiencing stock losses from travelling dogs. It was a case of "We can't really afford to build it, but we can't afford not to." It was a significant investment and at the time equated to approximately 10% of our property value.
Last year we experienced our first dog-related livestock losses in 10 years and, thankfully, were able to track down the culprit quickly.
The reduction in dog impacts has provided us with the confidence to invest in our sheep enterprise through the adoption of management practices and genetics aimed at improving productivity.
Perhaps the most unexpected benefit relates to biosecurity. The fences have virtually eliminated the movement of neighbouring livestock between properties. We are now in our fifth year without requiring lice treatment.
The netting design means that built-up debris, coupled with heavy rain and wind, has the potential to cause extensive damage. A heavy storm or swollen creek quickly pushes a boundary fence inspection to the extreme top of the to-do list.
Queensland experienced the full extent of this in March 2025, when a weather system resulted in the destruction of an estimated 4,500 km of fencing and livestock losses exceeding 150,000 head across south-west Queensland. The jointly funded State and Federal Exclusion Fence Restitution Program has been of significant assistance in helping landholders clean up and rebuild. While fences were down or destroyed, graziers experienced an influx of dogs and other pests onto their properties, and many found it challenging to regain control of predators.
Exclusion fences have now been in place in some areas for more than 10 years. They are a significant tool in reducing the impact of wild dogs and other feral animals on livestock businesses; however, they are not a silver bullet. Wild dogs remain an ongoing issue, and the fence is only one component of an effective pest management program. Continued baiting, trapping and coordinated landscape-scale control are just as important as ever in reducing dog numbers, dealing with incursions and maintaining the effectiveness of exclusion fencing over the long term.
In closing, have a look through the http://notjustafence.org/ website for some of the personal accounts of what exclusion fencing has meant to graziers' businesses. If you decide that exclusion fencing is right for your business, remember to temper your enthusiasm by limiting references to the "F-word" at the family dinner table and social occasions.
Peter Thomas
Director
WoolProducers Australia
