Trust members vote not to ban barbed wire

BARBED wire will not be banned from National Trust properties after members voted against the move.

A motion was put to the trust’s annual meeting on Saturday following the death of a deer which got caught in barbed wire on trust land near Greys Court in March.

However, it was defeated by 23,000 votes against to 12,554 in favour.

David Sarson, of Lambridge Wood Road, Henley, who was one of the people who put the motion forward, said he was disappointed at the result.

But he added: “I think it’s the start of a process rather than a one-off challenge.

“The fact we got 12,500 people to support it is positive and hopefully we can have a dialogue with the National Trust and work with them and find some cost-effective alternatives.

“Barbed wire has been around for about 150 years — there must be better solutions these days.

“There seems to be a general belief that barbed wire is outdated. It’s trying to persuade people who have been using it for years that there are alternatives which aren’t as damaging to either wildlife, livestock, pets or people out walking. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs gives farmers and landowners grants for doing fencing but only for the type that uses barbed wire.

“That is a financial disincentive to use alternatives, or more modern fencing, so that is something we will need to change by lobbying.”

Mr Sarson would like to discuss with the trust the installation of “deer leaps” at Greys Court.

“Ideally, we would like to see the barbed wire gone, but if there are interim things we can do to ameliorate the risks it’s better that they do something,” he said.

The motion said: “We believe that barbed wire is an outdated product and that it causes injury to wild animals and people.”

It asked the trust not to install any new or replacement barbed wire at any of its properties or allow tenants to do so. It also asked the trust to implement a plan to remove all barbed wire from its properties within five years and to identify “higher risk” sites, such as Greys Court, and remove the barbed wire immediately.

The charity’s board of trustees had recommended that members vote against the motion, saying it gave the trust’s managers the freedom to use the most effective methods for managing livestock and protecting sensitive sites.

It said it was “pleased” members had been given the opportunity to debate the issue.

It said: “As a conservation charity, and one of the nation’s biggest landowners, we take our role in protecting the wildlife that lives on our land very seriously.

“For the people managing our land this means having to make careful decisions about many aspects of land management, including the use of barbed wire.

“The population of deer in the UK is at an all-time high. In spite of this, the number of incidences of deer and other wildlife being harmed by barbed wire is extremely low.

“Deer will normally try to find a way around, through or under a fence before trying to jump over it.

“The relatively rare incidents of deer being caught in barbed wire fences usually happen when they are trying to jump over a fence.

“The trust uses barbed wire to manage livestock. It enables us to protect certain areas, including areas of high conservation sensitivity.”