SPECIFICATIONS FOR WIRE MESH FENCES TO EXCLUDE THE EUROPEAN WILD RABBIT FROM CROPS

Authors

I. Gordon McKillop, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Worplesdon Laboratory, Tangley Place, Guildford, Surrey GU3 3LQ, England
Harry W. Pepper, Forestry Commission, Forest Research Station, Alice Holt Lodge, Wrecclesham, Farnham, Surrey GU10 4LH, England
Charles J. Wilson, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Worplesdon Laboratory, Tangley Place, Guildford, Surrey GU3 3LQ, England

Date of this Version

March 1986

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The sizes of hexagonal and rectangular meshes needed to exclude all age classes of rabbits(Oryctolagus cuniculus) were 31 mm and 50 x 25 mm, respectively. In an enclosure, fences 0.75 m high excluded >90% of adult rabbits, a similar percentage to that obtained using the commonly accepted height of 0.9 m. In a subsequent field experiment using fences with a mesh size of 31 mm and heights of 0.9 m and 0.75 m, the numbers of rabbits seen on protected fields were reduced by about 80% for each height and therefore the 0.75-m-high fence was more cost-effective.