The behaviour of free-living European wild rabbits at electric fences
1999
McKillop, I.G. | Wilson, C.J.
The behaviour of free-living European wild rabbits was studied at two different makes of commercially available electric fences. There was little difference between the behaviour of rabbits at the two fences. The number which approached the fences fell by 50-65% after the fences had been in place for only a week and remained around this lower level until the end of the trial 12 weeks later. On the night of fence erection, most (60-65%) avoided the fences and of those which investigated them, most (83-93%) immediately returned to the woods after receiving a shock. These behaviours contribute towards the effectiveness of electric fencing as a rabbit management technique and highlight the importance of ensuring that power is maintained to fences during the first week of fence erection. There was little difference between the effectiveness (76-82%) of the two fences which were equally cost-effective.
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