The Hon. Clare Scriven, Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development (SA), Media Release, 18 September 2024

The $27.4 million project to rebuild 1,600km of the South Australian Dog Fence, which protects SA’s livestock industry from wild dog attacks, has reached a key milestone with 1,000km of the fence now rebuilt.

Stretching 2,150km from the Great Australian Bight to the New South Wales border, the Dog Fence is the longest continuous fence in the world. It is a key line of defense in protecting for the $4.3 billion livestock industry in SA from the impacts of attacks from wild dogs, preventing them from entering land used for sheep production.

In 2019, some sections of the fence were over 100 years old and in need of replacing after being degraded by kangaroos, emus, feral camels, wild dogs, weather events and sand erosion.

The new dog fence is built according to the environmental conditions of where it runs. While most of the fence uses steel posts, wooden posts are used in saline (salty) environments to remove issues with corrosion. Prefabricated wire is rolled out under tension, resulting in a much stronger fence than the old wire netting.

The rebuild project is jointly funded by the Australian Government ($10 million), the South Australian Government ($11.6 million) and the livestock industry ($5.8 million) and forms part of the SA Government’s strategy to eradicate all wild dogs inside the dog fence.

Other activities include ground and aerial baiting programs, trapping wild dogs that do not take baits, working with landholders to increase their productivity through predator control, and supporting relevant landscape boards to develop wild dog management plans.

The Dog Fence Rebuild Project is due for completion in mid-2025.

Quotes attributable to Clare Scriven

The eradication of wild dogs inside the Dog Fence is a priority for the State Government because wild dogs threaten the sheep industry. Prior to the rebuild of the Dog Fence, it is estimated they injured or killed around 20,000 sheep per year inside the dog fence.

This costs the industry millions of dollars, and this project has had immediate benefits to sheep producers and other livestock industries.

I am pleased to see this milestone reached as we rebuild our part of the longest continuous fence in the world. The rebuild is expected to have economic benefits of up to $113 million over 20 years.

It has created employment for South Australians, with more than 40 small to medium enterprises having been engaged, such as freight, mechanical servicing and repairs and cable locating, supporting the suppliers of materials and fencing contractors to rebuild the Dog Fence.