Electric Fencing Legislation

emobama

Hay,

Could anyone tell me if there is a Legal distance electric fencing must be set from residential fence?

My garden is surounded by farmers fields, they have fitted a single strand of electric wire along his side of our sheep wire fence, he has stepped it off on his side by 200mm arms but our child and and visiting children would still be able to reach it if they tried.

Any info would be appricated...

Carawaystick

emobama wrote: »

Hay,

Could anyone tell me if there is a Legal distance electric fencing must be set from residential fence?

My garden is surounded by farmers fields, they have fitted a single strand of electric wire along his side of our sheep wire fence, he has stepped it off on his side by 200mm arms but our child and and visiting children would still be able to reach it if they tried.

Any info would be appricated...

Tell your child and any visiting children not to touch the electric fence.

Get a stalk of grass and show them how the shock hits, by shortening the length of grass between their fingers and the wire.

If it's a boy,
clearly explain the really bad consequences of urination on a live wire.

BrianD

Is the existing fence in good condition? Not sure why he'd want an electric fence if the existing fence is alright. What sort of livestock are in the field?

Most of these electric fences are temporary in nature and could be moved.

If you live in an agricultural area, the best thing you can do is educate your children. They'll only touch it once!

emobama

The fence is in good nick but its only sheepwire and wooden posts, there will be grazing cattle so breaking the fence may not proove too difficult for an animal of their size.

The farmer could easly fit post in side his land so it's out of reach but he claims it would reduce his land there reducing farmers allowance/contribution by the government or something like this.

If the law states he must move it away because of residential restrictions i want him to move it, If he's within the law i would have to live with it but i would love to hear if anyone has had the same or similar problem with that outcome!

ANSI

emobama wrote: »

reducing farmers allowance/contribution by the government or something like this.
!

farmer's dole?

Ken.

At the back of my uncle's house in Carlow he had a similar problem and asked the farmer to cover the electric fence with a plastic pipe. My uncle went halves's with the farmer on 10 metere's of 1¼ inch water pipe and slit it and wrapped it around the electric fence. Problem solved.

BrianD

lucyfur09 wrote: »

At the back of my uncle's house in Carlow he had a similar problem and asked the farmer to cover the electric fence with a plastic pipe. My uncle went halves's with the farmer on 10 metere's of 1¼ inch water pipe and slit it and wrapped it around the electric fence. Problem solved.

Does that not defeat the purpose?

There's a saying that good fences make good neighbours. Perhaps you should invest in a suitable fence that would be robust enough to negate the need for the electric fence. The electric fence is obviously there because the existing fence could be breached by the larger animals.

Ken.

Sorry, i should have put in that my uncle has a good fence. It was too much hassle for the farmer to bypass my uncle's house so the solution above suited everyone.

BrianD

lucyfur09 wrote: »

Sorry, i should have put in that my uncle has a good fence. It was too much hassle for the farmer to bypass my uncle's house so the solution above suited everyone.

Actually, I was meaning my remarks for the OP too.

It seems to me that the solution to the OPs problem is to build his own fence - which may actually make no difference as the farmer would have to split his electric fence.

Or just ask the Farmer to move it out a tad further so his kids can't reach it from his property.

He could of course move it out himself - find power supply, switch off, move the posts out of grabbing range!

emobama

I could do a few of the mentioned things, however everything has a price tag attached.

and i wouldnt be all that instested in paying for something i shouldnt have to pay for!

BrianD

emobama wrote: »

I could do a few of the mentioned things, however everything has a price tag attached.

and i wouldnt be all that instested in paying for something i shouldnt have to pay for!

Hmmm ... but it seems that you live in an agricultural area and should expect this. Also if the fence is set back then it's on his property.

the free options are ...

Educating and informing your kids ... free.

Asking the farmer to move back the fence to accommodate you ... free.

BTW, speaking from childhood experience - once you know it's electric and you've been warned you will try and touch it. You tend to do that once! Naturally, you'll then entice your siblings/friends to touch it ...

Just Googled and found this from the UK that have safety docs for just about everything. It really gives little guidance for fences near residential areas other than warning signs. Planning permission seems only to be required (if ever) for a permanent fence. Note that British standards have no standing over here but tend to be used for best practice.

http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/electric-fence-manual_tcm6-11352.pdf (PDF)

sincere113

emobama wrote: »

Hay,

Could anyone tell me if there is a Legal distance electric fencing must be set from residential fence?

My garden is surounded by farmers fields, they have fitted a single strand of electric wire along his side of our sheep wire fence, he has stepped it off on his side by 200mm arms but our child and and visiting children would still be able to reach it if they tried.

Any info would be appricated...

Cop on. Tell your children not to touch the fence because if they do they will get a shock. Simple.

cladda1112

I dont get what the big deal is. I lived on mixed/dairy farm when i was a child with my many brothers and sisters. Our farm was covered in electric fences and as a child i learned quickly not to touch them. Get over it, it wont harm any child and they will only do it once. And if your child is big enough to lean over a fench and touch a electric fence then s/he is big enough to have sense. If you want to test how strong it is you can get a blade of grass. Warn you children about it and if they decide to touch it welll then they will have to suffer the result and it will be a good lesson to them to listen to their parents.

emobama

THanks for the info BrianD,

I'll dig about a little more....

odds_on

Get a small 9v battery. wet you kids fingers and get them to touch the two terminals. They'll get a small electric shock. Then explain that if they touch the electric fence the shock will be much worse.

I remember doing this at school (1950s), only we used our tongues to touch the terminals.

emobama

cladda1112 wrote: »

I dont get what the big deal is. I lived on mixed/dairy farm when i was a child with my many brothers and sisters. Our farm was covered in electric fences and as a child i learned quickly not to touch them. Get over it, it wont harm any child and they will only do it once. And if your child is big enough to lean over a fench and touch a electric fence then s/he is big enough to have sense. If you want to test how strong it is you can get a blade of grass. Warn you children about it and if they decide to touch it welll then they will have to suffer the result and it will be a good lesson to them to listen to their parents.

No big deal really, I just want to be able use my garden without having to worry about getting a shock here and there myself, and i especially dont want to worry about my child getting a shock because she does something silly like all 3.5 year olds do. I could list scenarios but i wont, the simplest is if a ball goes through the fence, skipping rope gets layed across the fence, she'll try to get it and get shocked.

My child is adventurous. (should i tell her to be less inquisitive)

If you have kids you will know that if you say 'dont touch that' they undoubtedly will, and most importantly accidents happen and are uncontrollable.
Also he asked us what we thought of them doing this, we said we had an issue and they should call down to discuss it, they agreed
that they would but they decided to put it up anyway without our consent. (that pissed me right off, zero respect for us and as they say it's a two way street)

emobama

sincere113 wrote: »

Cop on. Tell your children not to touch the fence because if they do they will get a shock. Simple.

I'm paying a mortgage here for the next 33 years so i bloody well don't want to be restricted in my own home, simple!

emobama

odds_on wrote: »

Get a small 9v battery. wet you kids fingers and get them to touch the two terminals. They'll get a small electric shock. Then explain that if they touch the electric fence the shock will be much worse.

I remember doing this at school (1950s), only we used our tongues to touch the terminals.

I did it my self but it's not a great idea all the same, do as i say not as i do and all that.

http://jonathanturley.org/2009/01/02/six-year-old-girl-killed-on-electric-fence-of-neighbor-in-texas/

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/14/1071336800329.html

ajjmk

When I was growing up the field surrounding our garden had an electric fence. Any child who came to the house was warned not to touch it. If they decided to disobey the rules they'd get a slight shock, and they'd never touch the fence again!
An electric fence isn't something to be stressing about, the voltage in agricultural fences isn't very high and it won't cause any pain - it's only strong enough to give you a bit of a hop!
IMO, don't bother hastling the farmer, and just tell the kids to stay away from it! If they ignore your warnings they'll see the consequences and won't disobey you again :P

Reading back over my post, it seems very harsh! But trust me, if they get a shock there may be a few tears, but that will only because they got a fright, they won't be experiencing any pain

sincere113

emobama wrote: »

sincere113 wrote: »

Cop on. Tell your children not to touch the fence because if they do they will get a shock. Simple.

I'm paying a mortgage here for the next 33 years so i bloody well don't want to be restricted in my own home, simple!

You can't control what your neighbour does on his property regarding electric fencing. He could throw up some sheds beside you and house cattle in it over winter.....That would be a problem!

I have a small holding have 4 kids and electric wire running everywhere. It doesn't take long for them to learn!!

Legally you can't do a thing, so the best approach is talk with him, if he won't move the fence then tough.....

cladda1112

emobama wrote: »

No big deal really, I just want to be able use my garden without having to worry about getting a shock here and there myself, and i especially dont want to worry about my child getting a shock because she does something silly like all 3.5 year olds do. I could list scenarios but i wont, the simplest is if a ball goes through the fence, skipping rope gets layed across the fence, she'll try to get it and get shocked.

My child is adventurous. (should i tell her to be less inquisitive)

If you have kids you will know that if you say 'dont touch that' they undoubtedly will, and most importantly accidents happen and are uncontrollable.
Also he asked us what we thought of them doing this, we said we had an issue and they should call down to discuss it, they agreed
that they would but they decided to put it up anyway without our consent. (that pissed me right off, zero respect for us and as they say it's a two way street)

I totally understand but like i and many other said that they will only do it once and its a good lesson for them. And i totally understand children as i have one the same age myself but even at that age she knows never to go near the road (live on a main road) as i have explained what will happen. If i could put a electric fence at the front of my house i would. Would rather her get a small shock than hit by a car. As for being adventerous it wil just learn her to listen to her parents. At the end of the day it is his land to do as he will. Would you rather his cattle/sheep in your garden. As for your scenario of the skipping rope, if it plastic or tember/rope handle wont shock and why would a skipping rope go flying through the air over a fence. As for a ball you child should be carefull going in to a field as there could be a bull or cow with calf there and they dont take to intruders.

MagicSean

emobama wrote: »

No big deal really, I just want to be able use my garden without having to worry about getting a shock here and there myself, and i especially dont want to worry about my child getting a shock because she does something silly like all 3.5 year olds do. I could list scenarios but i wont, the simplest is if a ball goes through the fence, skipping rope gets layed across the fence, she'll try to get it and get shocked.

My child is adventurous. (should i tell her to be less inquisitive)

If you have kids you will know that if you say 'dont touch that' they undoubtedly will, and most importantly accidents happen and are uncontrollable.
Also he asked us what we thought of them doing this, we said we had an issue and they should call down to discuss it, they agreed
that they would but they decided to put it up anyway without our consent. (that pissed me right off, zero respect for us and as they say it's a two way street)

Don't want to get too much into the parenting aspect here but what is the point in encouraging a child to be adventurous while shielding them from the risks. That's like telling a child to cross the road without worrying about cars.

Carawaystick

emobama wrote: »

I'm paying a mortgage here for the next 33 years so i bloody well don't want to be restricted in my own home, simple!

I reread my first post. what you need to do is get a long length of grass and touch the electric fence with a long length ( >45cm/18" ) of it and shorten the length until you get a reasonable jolt of each bang of the fence. at a long length this is is barely feelable.

Then you can show your own child about the fence and the parents and children who visit also.

The fence is on the other landowner's land. If it was say cash a certain distance across the boundary of a neighbour, youl'd still prevent your child touching the neighbour's property.

You aren't restricted to your own home, you are restricted to some distance outside your own home.

emobama

Carawaystick wrote: »

I reread my first post. what you need to do is get a long length of grass and touch the electric fence with a long length ( >45cm/18" ) of it and shorten the length until you get a reasonable jolt of each bang of the fence. at a long length this is is barely feelable.

Then you can show your own child about the fence and the parents and children who visit also.

The fence is on the other landowner's land. If it was say cash a certain distance across the boundary of a neighbour, youl'd still prevent your child touching the neighbour's property.

You aren't restricted to your own home, you are restricted to some distance outside your own home.

Who owns the fence then?

BrianD

emobama wrote: »

Who owns the fence then?

Whoever put it up or whose land it's on. A fence doesn't always have to be the actual boundary.

Has the OP raided the issue with the farmer yet?

vetstu

Well, why not move your own fence away from it if you don't want your children touching it, or tell him to take it down and see how you like a herd of cows/bullocks grazing on your lawn some morning because your fence didn't stand up to them.
Your child will touch the fence once and then will learn quickly enough to stay away from it,if they don't then they are stupid

emobama

vetstu wrote: »

Well, why not move your own fence away from it if you don't want your children touching it, or tell him to take it down and see how you like a herd of cows/bullocks grazing on your lawn some morning because your fence didn't stand up to them.
Your child will touch the fence once and then will learn quickly enough to stay away from it,if they don't then they are stupid

Her has attached it to my fence, thats my problem, i couldnt throw a blanket or dry clothes or whatever i want to do on my Own fence i paid for!!

slimjimmc

emobama wrote: »

Her has attached it to my fence, thats my problem, i couldnt throw a blanket or dry clothes or whatever i want to do on my Own fence i paid for!!

Well that's a completely different kettle of fish which you hadn't mentioned until now. If the farmer attached the electric fence to your property then you are entitled to instruct him to remove it off your property. Be polite though, you still have to live there.
However that may not change your situation as the farmer would be perfectly entitled to remount the fence on his own supports in the exact same place (assuming it's on his property or leasehold) and you'll have no say in the matter.

You will then be able to do what you like with your own fence, so long as you don't cross the property boundary. If you don't want your child to touch the relocated fence then either educate your child or improve your own fence.

sincere113

slimjimmc wrote: »

emobama wrote: »

Her has attached it to my fence, thats my problem, i couldnt throw a blanket or dry clothes or whatever i want to do on my Own fence i paid for!!

How did you manage to omit such vital info in your OP? This is a completely different problem to the one you started with.

Your not going to be able to change the existing location of the electric fence!

emobama

sincere113 wrote: »

slimjimmc wrote: »

How did you manage to omit such vital info in your OP? This is a completely different problem to the one you started with.

Your not going to be able to change the existing location of the electric fence!

I didnt omit any information, here is the line from my origional question:

'My garden is surounded by farmers fields, they have fitted a single strand of electric wire along his side of our sheep wire fence'

Thanks for all the help on this, but i nearly have this sorted, I will let you all know the legality of this as soon as i get confirmation later this week.

It will be good to know for future refenances, aay!