Virtual fencing to prevent wildlife roadkill: promising technology?

Every year, countless native animals are killed on Victorian roads, including wallabies, wombats, echidnas, koalas and kangaroos. Roadkill is not only a tragic loss for biodiversity, it can be a serious danger for drivers. Perhaps the greatest risk is of hitting a large feral deer: their size presents a real possibility of injuries to vehicle occupants in a collision. In the search for solutions, virtual fencing has emerged as a new and interesting technology aimed at reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions. But how effective is it – and is it a possible solution?

How it works
Virtual fencing involves installing roadside posts (like the reflective white ones you see on highways or country roads) that are fitted with a device that emits light and sound signals when they detect an approaching vehicle, usually using motion or headlight sensors. These signals are designed to startle or alert animals near the roadside, encouraging them to move away before a car passes. Unlike traditional fences, there are no physical barriers.

Trials in Victoria
Several virtual fencing trials have been conducted across Victoria over the past few years. 

Manningham Council have installed virtual fencing along Jumping Creek Road in Wonga Park, an area where kangaroos and other wildlife are often struck trying to cross the road to follow the creek upstream. The project is testing the technology’s effectiveness in a peri-urban area, with early signs pointing to a reduction in roadkill along targeted stretches. Frankston City Council have installed virtual fencing along roads near the Langwarrin Flora & Fauna Reserve which they say is aimed at protecting black wallabies and improving road safety. 

Virtual fences are being used along a road running inland from the Great Ocean Road near Anglesea, where a local wildlife rescuer says they have more than halved the number of roos and wallabies being hit and killed, as well as reducing the number of echidnas and birds being hit. The results are far less convincing on Phillip Island though, after a 3-year trial found no roadkill reduction on wallabies and possums.