United States Department of Agriculture: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications
Accessibility Remediation
If you are unable to use this item in its current form due to accessibility barriers, you may request remediation through our remediation request form.
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
2010
Citation
Journal of Wildlife Management 74(7):1620–1625; 2010; DOI: 10.2193/2009-268
Abstract
Rapidly deployable and effective methods are needed to contain free-ranging deer (Odocoileus spp.) during acute disease outbreaks. We evaluated efficacy of a 2.1-m-tall polypropylene mesh (poly-mesh) fence for containing ≥15 free-ranging white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) within a 42-ha area in eastern Nebraska, USA. We observed a 99% decrease in deer leaving the enclosure area after we installed fencing (1 deer jumped; 0.02 deer/hr) compared with prefence rates (5.26 deer/hr). However, 8 deer (53% of censused population) escaped the enclosure during a census drive after our study. Poly-mesh fencing may be effective in temporarily containing free-ranging deer during minimally disruptive deer removal actions such as trapping or sharpshooting.