Stakeless fencing for mountain pastures.

This paper describes the development and testing of an effective livestock fence which does not use stakes or barbed wire, based on an electromagnetic coupling between a wire unrolled on the ground around the cattle and electronic devices carried by collared animals. The wire, which is insulated, can be on ground, vegetation, or even buried. It is insensitive to the presence of water and is no danger to humans. More than 800 days of experiment on 150 cattle of different breeds were carried out in France in mountain pastures between 1999 and 2003. This system could allow for environmental renovation of wild areas and help to more precise management of grazing in protected zones by bringing more flexibility in fencing.