Electric fencing

[vivaat]

What are the laws about livestock fencing? We were walking Lazer through a field of sheep on a proper footpath when suddenly he barked, yelped, cried and leaped into the air! I thought he'd trod on something but realised he must have put his nose too close to the electric fence!! Poor thing, what if a child had touched it? What can we do about it? He's OK but obviously in pain at the time I felt so sorry for him as it wasn't his fault!!

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

omg poor lazer hope hes ok 8hugs* for him

not sure about laws sorry maybe google will help?

[Val (Zebedee)]

aw, poor Lazer ... like Nix, I'm not sure what the laws are for this, they may be different in different countries ... hope Lazer is OK now, xx

[Chezell]

I think most farmers use a battery (car type) for their fencing in my area, I,m sure that's what I've seen,

so maybe 12v or 24v,

I'll E-mail my cousin and find out

[Demiurge]

Voltage doesn't matter much. Think about the little tazers you can buy, some go up to 10,000 volts or even much higher. What gets you, regardless of volts, is the amperage.

[Sarah]

ouch poor thing - we used to have electric fencing on the farm where i worked - touched it once - and ONLY once maaannn that hurt

not usre on the laws totally, i know they have to have signs posted around though to warn ppl

[Sparks]

ye you have to have a clear sign to warn people, and the fence will have to be under a certain amperage as brains sed, it is the amperage that will hurt you not the voltage really.

[Lyn]

If a child touched it, they would get the same as your dog: a very low-voltage, localised jolt that would cause a tingle and maybe the local muscles to contract and nothing more. The jump/yelp comes from the surprise aspect of it: It had the desired effect!

Farmers are perfectly within the law to use it, certainly in the UK, after all, only the footpath is public, not the whole field, and especially at this time of year, I can't blame any farmer for wanting to protect their sheep from dogs.

As to what to 'do' about it: keep your dog on a shorter lead or walk him on the side of you furthest away while you pass it next time.

[Lil Miss Bump]

@lyn i assume you were trying to be helpful in your post above but what it came across as was just plain rude and obnoxious.

the person in question was obviously not letting their dog run free on a long lead, as they said they were walking on a proper path, not just randomly through someone's land.

they also obviously would have been being careful with sheep around anyway and obviously did not know the fencing was there otherwise they wouldn't have let their dog anywhere near it.

no one is disputing the fact farmers should protect their livestock or the use of the fencing, they were simply asking what the laws where......come on-you didn't have to be so rude about it.

[Sibe77]

Its not the volts that will kill you but the Amps, Electrical fences are just there to give a little zap to make livestock think twice about trying to get out, touching the fence does not hurt but just send a little shock out that makes you jump a bit like a static shock, i will not cause any harm to anyone or thing......

As for the Laws Ozzy i could not answer that im affraid, apart from say im sure they would have a restriction on the amount of voltage they are putting out, but most fences will not cause anyharm...

[davidjk]

i was out walking and went under an electric fence and it touched my kneck, i saw stars for a few minutes

[Sibe77]

http://www.electricfence-online.co.uk/shop/electric-fencing/electric-fence-advice-faqs/guide-to-electric-fencing.html#15

[Kells xx]

awwww poor lazer, im glad he is ok now but that must have been a fright for you.

did the farmer not have signs along the fence?, they should have as to warn people.

i hope that he never has that happen again..........

hugs from my husky and gsd

kelly

[Lyn]

Intended as 'matter of fact' and to the point. Where serious subjects like livestock and dogs are concerned, I fail to see what good some nondescript 'fluffy' response does?

I didn't suggest the OP had their dog loose or on a huge lead, but if the dog came into contact with the fence, they were too close to it, simple as! And the solution is to keep them away from it. Nor did I suggest they randomly walked over private property, though as said already, only the footpath is public. The fence is indeed on private property. Incidentally, landowners CAN also put electric fences ACROSS a public footpath, with the appropriate signage and the Appropriate insulated handle to pass through it.

We are in rural sheep country and electric fences are in use around here. Unfortunately required as too many dog walkers do treat the whole field as the footpath, let their dogs crap on the grass the stock are eating, you name it! And I know at least 3 off lead dogs were shot locally last spring in sheep fields.

Incidentally, yes, we are fully aware of the rules. We have electric fences around perimeter of our property and around our free-run paddock (as do other Sibe kennel owners). One runs off a 12v battery, the other is mains powered. The output of both is 5 amps. To put that into perspective, the output of a cattle prod (also used on livestock) is in the region of 5000 amps, so no, an electric fence will not harm anything, not even a toy breed or small animal like a rabbit.

[Andy]

Hey Viv,

I hope Lazer is ok & has recovered.

for your own peace of mind revist the site (if possible) and double check to see if

the farmer has posted the required signage (see the link provided by sibe77)

If he has then you must have missed it. . . But that's not the farmers fault (sorry)

If he hasn't posted the correct signage, then the local authorities need to be made aware.

[Sqwidge]

There's an electric 'tape' fence going round a horse field next to the cricket field my husband plays at...and me, and my sister in laws boyfriend touched it, nothing more than a static shock...what i found funny was that if you touch the fence with a piece of grass the 'shock' came out of my hip...really weird!!!

[Lil Miss Bump]

I refuse to argue with you Lyn or continue this any further as I have been informed it is not worth it.

Whatever you say is correct.

[Lyn]

I refuse to argue with you Lyn or continue this any further as I have been informed it is not worth it.

Whatever you say is correct.

Fine by me, You were well-informed

[vivaat]

Thanks for all your replies folks and sorry didn't mean to cause an argument Lazer is absolutely fine I'm pleased to say but I was quite worried at the time not knowing just how powerful the bolt might have been. I'm sure it would have killed any sheep going near it as they are prone to dropping down dead aren't they?

Incidently I did have Lazer on a short lead and I didn't notice any signs, in fact I never see any warning signs when these fences are around. I thought they were designed to keep the animals in not out. Dogs do sniff at things and that's all that Lazer had done but you know what they say - curiosity killed the cat or dog in my case.

I work on a farm myself and have been told by the guys here that he wouldn't have come to any harm, still it's not nice to witness at all.

Anyway going to read the posts again as I'm sure there's something else I want to address.

Thx all love Viv and Lazer the red nosed husky lol

[Lyn]

Your right about sheep ..........Their born trying to die and spend their lives not really needing an excuse to!. I think electric fences on footpaths serve both purposes really, both to keep dogs away from stock, and to keep stock away from the public. Even sheep can be pretty aggressive if protecting their young, as anyone who's ever been on the recieving end of their head to the back of your knees can verify! and they can be particularly aggressive towards dogs

[Lil Miss Bump]

Glad Lazer is ok Viv xxx

[taz291819]

As others have said, those electric fences don't put out enough amps to seriously hurt anyone or anything, including a child.

FWIW, the proper way to test an electric fence to determine if it's hot (excluding a multimeter, who carries one around?) is to use the back side of your hand. When electricity goes through your body, your muscles contract. If you use the back side of your hand, when your bicep contracts, this action will pull your hand away from the fence. Just the opposite, if you grab the fence, your contracting bicep pushes your arm forward, meaning you stay in contact with the fence longer.