Feral Animal Control Fencing
Feral animal incursion is probably my greatest concern, over which I have limited control. It’s one thing to have friends and neighbours willing to come to the property to shoot goats, deer, sometimes possums, and occasionally hares, but it’s preferrable to prevent incursion.
As part of my feral animal management strategy, I will install deer fencing along the boundary, with a barbed wire run at the bottom to deter pigs. Ideally, I’d like to install this fencing around the whole of the property perimeter, but that would be very expensive. I’ll do it when I can afford to. My first priority is the unfenced areas, which provide unfettered access from Akatore Creek Road.
I contacted some local fencing contractors, and one of them turned out to be the brother of my neighbour, Anita Stevens. Anita and her husband Chris bought the other block of land that was being sold by John and Judy King when I bought my property. Rob Girvan is an experienced farmer, who now spends most of his time contracting – the vast majority of which is fencing for small land holders like me. He’s a real gentleman: hard working, quiet, skilled, with pride in his work.
Rob came with his tractor, fitted with a post driver. There were no holes to dig. It was more like an assembly task. I worked with Rob, moving posts and rolling out the deer fencing, and holding it in place, while he fixed it to the posts. It was my first fencing since I was a young teenager. The work is physical, and the satisfaction of looking back at the end of the day on a well-installed line of fencing remains unchanged.
In May 2024 we installed a 75 m run of fence from the western boundary to the point where the Wenita forest starts. This fence blocked access to the property from Akatore Creek Road, so we fitted a gate to the property at the start of the fence run. This will give me a way in for equipment, along the future walking track.
Rob Girvan had a few days spare, so he returned to install an additional 90 m of fence at the bottom of the hill, where Akatore Creek Road turns south. As long as the eastern gate at the eastern end of Akatore Creek Road is shut, I’ll now have reasonable protection from feral animals coming out of the forest.
Rob followed the curve of the road, and we installed a deer gate to give me access into Area 3. It was another straight forward install that took just a couple of days.
31 August 2024