Cloth Strips Stop Wolf Attacks

Cloth Strips Stop Wolf Attacks MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Pest Animals 27-5-43 Strips of cloth hung from fence wire or lengths of twine can be used to protect large areas from wolves, say researchers for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Called a "fladry" fence, the idea has been used for centuries in Eastern Europe where hunters would hang large sections of fladry in the shape of a "V." They would drive wolves into the narrow end of the "V" and shoot them. Though desperate to escape, the wolves wouldn't cross the fladry fence. The fence consists of ordinary strips of cloth cut to 4 in. wide by 20 in. long. These strips are hung from fence wire or heavy twine about 17 in. apart with the bottom of the cloth strips hanging only a couple inches off the ground. The strips of cloth create a psychological barrier the wolves won't cross. Recently the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service experimented with the fencing in Idaho. Workers hung nine miles of fladry fencing around a ranch just outside the town of Salmon, which covered a large area with an active wolf population. The simple barrier kept all wolves out for two months. After that some wolves started to cross. Researchers think fladry fence could be used to protect livestock at vulnerable times, such as calving. (More information is available online at: http://www.defenders.org).

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