Electric fences using subsidies to prevent wildlife damage, more than 200 locations nationwide do not work

The amount of damage to agricultural crops caused by wild animals such as wild boars and deer is about 20 billion yen annually nationwide. For this reason, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is subsidizing municipalities near mountainous areas to install fences such as "electric fences" to prevent animals from entering fields.

This project is a "wildlife damage prevention comprehensive measures subsidy project" that subsidizes up to the full amount when installing electric fences or wire fences in fields.

From fiscal 2008, when the project began, to fiscal 2017, approximately 84 billion yen was granted to 46 prefectures, excluding Tokyo. When the Board of Audit extracted more than 10 prefectures nationwide and investigated whether fences were installed in more than 10 prefectures, it was found that animals could easily enter fields in more than 200 locations. found to be in a state

A total of about 500 million yen worth of crop damage was caused due to problems with maintenance and installation methods. There were cases where local governments were unable to obtain the consent of the landowners where the fences were to be installed, and were unable to install fences around the fields. Some of the places that had collapsed were not inspected for more than a year after installation.

An electric fence gives an electric shock to a wild animal trying to intrude by energizing a protective fence, aiming at a psychological shielding effect rather than a physical shielding. If it can be properly installed and managed, a high effect can be expected, but it is meaningless if the fields cannot be enclosed in the first place. Also, after installation, maintenance such as leakage prevention is required, and the cost is relatively high.

The results of this survey clearly show that there were deficiencies when the fences were installed in the first place, and that maintenance was not properly carried out after installation. The Board of Audit will request the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to make improvements.

Reference article: How to install effective fences