Animal welfare-compliant fencing and pasture netting requirements

Fences and pasture nets that are not animal-friendly are an often deadly trap for wild animals, in particular roe deer, red deer, foxes, hedgehogs, amphibians and many other species. The canton of (………) should issue clear rules so that pasture fences and nets are designed to be wildlife-friendly, operated correctly and consistently removed when not in use.

1. Motion

The Government Council is instructed to submit to the Grand Council a bill amending cantonal agricultural, animal welfare, hunting and, where applicable, forestry law (Act on Agriculture ……, Animal Welfare Ordinance ……., Hunting Act ……, Forest Act ……) and the associated ordinances. The aim is to introduce binding standards in line with animal welfare for pasture fences and pasture nets in the canton of (………).

The revision of the law and ordinance must in particular ensure that:

• that binding minimum technical requirements are laid down for pasture nets and electric fences in open country, in particular:
  • a maximum fence height in certain areas (for example along wildlife crossings and forest edges)
  • a distance of 20 cm between the lowest live strand and the ground, which meets the requirements of herd protection and allows hedgehogs, amphibians and small mammals to pass
  • clearly visible fences and nets, namely in blue and white or with blue-and-white flutter tape, instead of the orange or red nets that are poorly visible to wild animals
  • restrictions on mesh sizes, net shapes and wire thicknesses that make it easier for wild animals to become entangled and caught.
• that strand fences take precedence over pasture nets, and pasture nets are used only where a strand fence is not practicable.
• that pasture nets and electric fences may be used only where, and only for as long as, livestock are actually grazing on them. In particular, the following must be laid down:
  • an obligation to remove pasture nets that are no longer in use without delay, at the latest within five days, as the canton of Grisons already requires
  • a ban on leaving electric nets standing permanently in the terrain without livestock
  • an obligation to remove nets seasonally in known wildlife corridors and migration routes.
• that special restrictions apply in the area of forest edges, hedges, streams, wetlands, wildlife corridors and known crossings, namely:
  • a ban on certain types of net with a high risk of entanglement
  • minimum distances between fences and cover structures that force wild animals to jump over or squeeze through
  • requirements for passages, crossing points or fence-free corridors for wild animals.
• that electrically powered pasture nets and fences:
  • must be designed technically so that no avoidable severe burns, falls or injuries occur to wild animals and livestock
  • may be operated at night in certain sensitive locations (including amphibian migration areas) only at reduced voltage or temporarily switched off.
• that the canton establish an information and advisory service for farmers, livestock keepers and municipalities which:
  • provides information on wildlife-friendly fence and net systems
  • gives concrete recommendations on the placement, design and inspection of installations
  • shows which systems have proven effective in terms of herd protection and animal welfare.
• that inspections of pasture fences and nets be integrated into the regular supervisory activities of the agricultural, animal welfare and hunting authorities. Installations found to be particularly dangerous for wild animals are to be:
  • identified and given a deadline for remedying the defects
  • sanctioned with administrative measures and fines if the defects are not remedied.
• that deaths or serious injuries of wild animals in connection with fences and pasture nets must be reported to the competent authority. The canton keeps statistics on these cases in order to:
  • identify particularly problematic fence types and locations
  • derive targeted improvement measures.
• that financial support and funding instruments (including direct payments and contributions to herd protection) be made conditional on the fence and net systems used complying with animal welfare requirements.
• that mandatory modules on wildlife-friendly fence and net systems be included in hunting training and in courses for farmers.
• that the cantonal government sets out in its report:
  • which problems with pasture nets and fences are currently known in the canton
  • which fence and net systems are considered particularly problematic
  • what organisational and financial implications can be expected for the canton, the municipalities and the groups concerned.

The Executive Council shall ensure that the cantonal provisions do not fall short of the requirements of federal law in the areas of animal welfare and agriculture, but rather specify and strengthen them in the interests of effective wildlife protection.

2. Brief rationale

Pasture nets and fences are an indispensable part of farming practice. At the same time, year after year they cause great, mostly unseen suffering to wild animals:

• Roe deer, red deer, chamois and other ungulates get caught in nets by their legs or antlers, panic, injure themselves severely or die slowly.
• Hedgehogs, amphibians, young foxes, young badgers, hares and numerous small mammals become entangled in meshes, strands and wires, are electrocuted, injure themselves or die of exhaustion.
• Birds can be seriously injured by poorly visible strands, particularly dense nets or barbed wire.

The figures show the scale of the problem. According to a cantonal survey by the Swiss Animal Protection STS from 2020, an estimated 3,000 to 4,500 wild animals die in fences in Switzerland every year, more than 70 per cent of them in pasture nets (STS information sheet). The number of injured animals is probably three to four times higher. In the Grisons, 73 entangled wild animals had already been recorded in 2026 (“Fences as animal traps: 73 wild animals entangled in Grisons”).

The most effective measures are well known. Ungulates see with only two types of cone and can barely distinguish the widespread orange and red nets from the green of the meadow, whereas they perceive blue well. The herd protection advisory service of Agridea therefore recommends blue-and-white fluttering tapes. Specialist bodies such as the STS also advise using strand fences instead of pasture nets wherever possible. If the lowest electrified strand is 20 cm above the ground, the fence meets the herd protection requirements against the wolf while still allowing small animals to pass. Herd protection and wildlife protection are therefore not in conflict.

A fence is meant to protect animals, not to kill them in agony. Anyone who covers the landscape with nets and strands must ensure that wild animals do not perish on them.

These deaths and cases of suffering are not a law of nature but the result of human design. Many of the pasture nets and fence types in use today are geared solely to short-term benefit and completely ignore the needs and movement patterns of free-living animals. Particularly problematic is the trend towards cheap, quickly erected plastic nets that:

• often stand for months on the pasture without any animals
• are placed at forest edges, in wildlife corridors or along hedgerows
• by their very structure carry a high risk of entanglement, snagging and strangulation.

In Switzerland, great weight is placed on biodiversity, animal welfare and wildlife-friendly infrastructure. At the same time, pasture fence and netting systems remain largely a private decision, often without oversight, without clear requirements and without consequences, even when they demonstrably cause animal suffering. From the standpoint of animal welfare and a credible wildlife policy, this imbalance is no longer tenable.

Animal-welfare-compliant fencing and netting requirements are:

• a simple, pragmatic lever for preventing a great deal of animal suffering
• technically easy to implement, as numerous more wildlife-friendly systems are already on the market
• also in the interests of farmers, since they reduce accidents involving livestock and wild animals and defuse conflicts with the public and animal welfare organisations.

The motion does not call for pasture nets to be abolished, but for them to be regulated:

• Dangerous designs and locations should be banned or significantly restricted
• Nets and fences should only be put up where they are genuinely needed
• Fence and netting systems should be based on the movement patterns of wild animals, not the other way round
• Violations should not go unpunished when animals repeatedly die as a result.

In a landscape that is intensively used and shaped by humans, the canton bears responsibility for the consequences of that shaping. It is unacceptable that wild animals die in an invisible tangle of plastic netting, strands and wires simply because animal-welfare-compliant requirements are lacking or are not enforced.