Most of the time, when people think of an electric fence, they think of something designed to keep an animal inside. Prison yards have electric security fences around them to help deter inmates from trying to escape. There are people who build electric fencing around their property for the purpose of protecting the animals inside the fence.
The cow is a very stubborn animal. Barbed wire is the material most commonly used to construct the enclosures that keep herds of cows in. When a cow hits the barbed wire, it can cut itself severely. In remote areas, the animal may be seriously injured, and succumb to those injuries before the owner discovers them.
Placing an electric fence where there is a barbed wire fence will help protect cows from being injured by the fence material. Animals can smell electricity and are less likely to try to push through the electrically charged fence, but when they rush into it they will receive an electric shock. The shock will be enough to get their attention, but not enough to cause any real harm to the animal. The wire through which the electric charge passes will not cut the animal.
Electric fencing can also be used to ensure that predators do not enter the animal enclosure and kill them. Chicken is a defenseless animal. In the wild, chickens can fly and climb into the treetops to get some protection from fox, raccoon, possum, and mink. When chickens are placed in a chicken coop they can no longer fly to the safe trees to hide from these predators. A predator can simply tear the wire around the enclosure and kill the chicken. If the fence is electrically charged, predators cannot easily tear it down and kill the chickens.
Chicken coops can be protected by these fences, but you can also place them around enclosures with animals giving birth, rabbit cages, or around the home of any animal whose natural defenses have been removed because humans molded them.
Many people do not consider these fences because their property is so remote that they do not have the ability to connect fencing devices to an electrical power source. Technology has given these people solar powered electric fence devices. You don’t have to have a power source handy because the solar panels will make their own electricity and recharge the fence every day.
This means that these fences can be placed around any animal enclosure, no matter how far away the enclosure is. People have the power to protect the animals in their care, and that’s what we must do. When we take an animal from its natural environment and surround it, we take responsibility for its food, shelter, and care. Their safety is our concern.