2 weeks ago
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A three-year trial in Victoria has used posts that emit sound and light to deter animals such as kangaroos from jumping into the paths of oncoming vehicles.
The number of animals killed along one of Victoria’s most popular tourist roads has drastically fallen following a trial using a ‘virtual fence’.
Wildlife group Surf Coast Wildlife Rescue says there has been a significant drop in the animal road toll along Forest Road – a thoroughfare linking the Great Ocean Road in the state’s west with inland towns.
Founding member Jason Cichocki told the ABC that before the trial started in 2022, there were around 250 kangaroos and wallabies killed each year on the road – and that number has been halved thanks to the trial.
However, the overall number of animals killed on Victorian roads is up 25 per cent to June this year compared to the same time in 2023, according to Wildlife Victoria, with more than 15,000 incidents recorded versus just over 12,000.
The worst-affected areas were the Macedon Ranges Shire Council, Hume City Council, Yarra Ranges Shire Council, Whittlesea City Council and Nillumbik Shire Council.
While the Anglesea trial covers the greatest area, there have been smaller areas tested at 13 sites across Victoria – including Phillip Island, the City of Casey, the Mornington Peninsula and Mount Buller – though not all have reported such successful results.
A three-year trial on Phillip Island between 2019 and 2022 found there was no significant effect of the virtual fence on roadkill rates, reports the ABC.
Virtual fences were first introduced in Australia by Wildlife Safety Solutions at 41 locations, though the technology has been in use in Europe for longer to reduce the number of deer killed on local roads.
They work by emitting sound and light to alert kangaroos and other wildlife of oncoming cars, aiming to prevent them from jumping onto the road.
The “fence” is made up of green posts placed at 25-metre intervals, similar to reflective ones you often see at the side of the road, which are activated by a vehicle’s headlights approaching between dusk and dawn.
Another method being tested locally is a joint venture between Volkswagen and the University of Melbourne which involves a ‘RooBadge’ accessory on the front of a car that uses AI to compare its GPS coordinates to the distribution of kangaroos in an area, emitting a more natural sound than the virtual fence to deter kangaroos.
A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
