The use and potential of pest-proof fencing for ecosystem restoration and fauna conservation in New Zealand

Abstract

Introduction In New Zealand, fences are commonplace. In a country in which pastoral agriculture is one of the dominant land uses, and in which rotational grazing is a strong management paradigm, barriers to control the distribution of farm animals are present in most landscapes. It is not surprising, therefore, that New Zealand conservation managers have extended and adapted this basic and familiar technology to try and control the distribution of exotic mammalian pests (The term “pest” here is used to denote wild animals that adversely affect indigenous biota and ecosystems; Parkes and Murphy 2003 ) . ...