A group of volunteer Arizonans took it upon themselves to clear out dozens of miles of old barbed wire fences.
In Tucson, the Desert Fence Busters organization has been working to remove abandoned stretches of fencing since 2021, according to local radio station 91.5 KJZZ Phoenix.
Old barbed-wire barriers are found throughout the Sonoran Desert and were likely installed on former farmland to contain cattle. Some of the fencing sections are up to 100 years old and are no longer maintained or used.
The group has successfully removed 95 miles of fences over the last five years across 16,000 acres. They dispose of the scraps at a metal recycler and work in partnership with the National Park Service.
"It's not serving any useful purpose anymore, and probably was originally put up either to keep cattle in or keep cattle out, depending on whether you were a rancher or a farmer," said Tom Hannigan, a member of the group, per 91.5 KJZZ Phoenix.
"But since it doesn't serve any productive purpose, all it really does do is get in the way."
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Leaving these fences in the wild functions the same as littering. The rusted, sharp metal is obviously dangerous for animals and humans, and the fences can also disrupt normal life and migration for wildlife.
Animals could be injured by the fences or trapped in them, and they could be prevented from reaching food, water, and shelter. Fences of all kinds pose a risk to wildlife, like border fences between countries that cut through nature. Activists have spoken out on these kinds of barriers all over the world to raise awareness about how they harm the environment.
"We've seen plenty of evidence of animals that have been caught in barbed wire, and it's a fairly ugly way to die," said Hannigan, per 91.5 KJZZ Phoenix. "So we're trying to promote wildlife connectivity."
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