Virtual Fencing Solution to Australia's Wildlife Roadkill Toll

Australian Bushfire Help, 7 May 2020

A simple fence post is saving kangaroos and other Australian wildlife from extinction, after one billion animals were killed during the bushfire crisis. Australia's wildlife need this now more than ever. Residents complained to Sunshine Coast Council about roadkill and the Council 'listened and acted' rolling out virtual fencing in response.

Australia has a significant roadkill issue and several endemic species that are vulnerable to roadkill. An estimate toll of 4 million Australian mammals killed per year on Australian roads, is conservative according to the CSIRO. Female marsupial casualties can have surviving young in their pouches, producing an estimated 560 000 orphans per year. A conservative estimate is that under 10% (up to 50 000) of these orphans are rescued, rehabilitated, and released by volunteer wildlife carers.

Most people would not give it a second thought, but what if we started putting markers on the side of roads, to mark the death of an animal? It wouldn’t take to long to send a message home, that this needs to change. Surely, we need to start protecting our biodiversity from this unacceptable death toll.

Germany uses wildlife crossings, giving wildlife, rite of passage along major highways.

Local residents complained to Sunshine Coast Council in Queensland, about roadkill and the Council 'listened and acted' rolling out virtual fencing in response. 'Most collisions occur because of the surprise element for both the driver and the kangaroo,' a Council statement at the time read. Sunshine Coast Council purchased this equipment from an Australian company called Wildlife Safety Solutions and installed it at three separate locations across their region.

Dubbed a 'virtual fence', the electronic signs are designed to change both kangaroo and driver behaviour. These posts are activated by car headlights shining on them and emit a loud buzzing sound thereby deterring wildlife from crossing the road. With this equipment, kangaroos are alerted to oncoming cars or motorbikes before crossing and correspondingly the cars and motorbikes are warned to slow down.

With Australia holding the highest mammal extinction rate in the world, many unique mammal species no longer found in the wild on mainland Australia are still found in Tasmania, making mitigating roadkill hotspots an important conservation tool to help maintain presence of these species in their last remaining stronghold. In 2018, a 3 year trial by the CSIRO in Tasmania concluded a reduction in total roadkill rate, and in the most commonly affected species, by 50%, suggested that these devices have enormous potential to substantially reduce roadkill rates. They further stated that Road Managers, including Councils, in other Australian States that suffer from high rates of wildlife roadkill may benefit from the knowledge of the results of this trial.

Here is some further information on the virtual fence solution available from Wildlife Safety Solutions:

• The devices are solar-powered and detect oncoming headlights

• When triggered, they sound a short alarm and flash lights

• They have been shown to hold a kangaroo’s attention momentarily while the traffic passes

• They work best on long, straight roads with a speed limit <90km/hr

For further information on virtual fencing please contact Wildlife Safety Solutions: https://www.wildlifesafetysolutions.com.au/

Tyron de Kauwe, the Natural Areas Conservation Officer at Sunshine Coast Regional Council encourages anyone that is interested in this solution, to contact their Council directly and share the product information, so that it is definitely on their radar.

You can also help right now: please don’t throw organic waste out the window, like apple cores or banana peels - it attracts wildlife to the sides of busy highways. In regional and wildlife areas please keep your eyes open, and SLOW DOWN.