My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

Legal matters

Barbed wire fences

4 replies

catseverywhere · 08/06/2014 15:14

This might be long, so apologies in advance.

I share a boundary with my neighbour, which is very long and which used to consist of massive leylandii (his). A couple of summers ago he had them drastically reduced - they were well over 40 ft and were growing outwards into our garden, so we were naturally very relieved. We are now left with just the trunks, which are about 12 feet tall, and the branches in between have been removed.

Neighbour decided that the best way to create a new fence between us was to tack a wire fence onto the trunks (on our side) and then plant some plants that would ultimately grow up the wire fence. All fine, we were very happy with this, and the work was duly done.

However, we have cats. The cats are able to get through the wire fence and into his garden - when I say 'garden', I've seen smaller fields, it is massive, and apart from mowing it occasionally he doesn't do anything with it.

One evening, I looked out and saw one of my cats in the neighbour's garden - I then saw the neighbour drive his car at the cat (the garden really is that big, and the area where he keeps his car is just to the side of it), back up and try again. My son went round to have a word with him - he said that if any of the cats come onto his land he will do whatever he wants to them.

One of the cats has since been shot, the vet said clearly at close range, with an air rifle - we have no evidence it was him, but naturally we have our suspicions.

We have just today seen that neighbour has attached barbed wire to the tree trunks in the gaps, at a height that will injure the cats if they go from our garden to his - I can think of no reason for him to have done this other than to cause deliberate injury.

I totally understand that he doesn't want cats in his garden, but we have done everything he wanted in terms of creating the 'natural' fence between us that he wanted when he chose to take the leylandii down, and I am wondering whether it is legal to use barbed wire as part of a fence between domestic gardens.

OP posts:
Report
Lonecatwithkitten · 08/06/2014 15:32

The simplest solution is to add chicken wire your side which will prevent your cats from going over or under the barbed wire.

Report
buggerboooo · 08/06/2014 15:38

Wow. What a nasty piece of work! I would do my nut if I thought he'd have shot my cat!! I think you really need to try and stop the cats going near his land. Chicken wire etc. Id even go so far as electrifying it, like you do to keep horses in. So not enough to hurt but to deter. How horrible to have such as nasty neighbour!

Report
MidniteScribbler · 08/06/2014 21:35

He sounds like an absolute twerp, but really, it is your responsibility to keep your pets safe and confined on your own property. You know he doesn't like cats on his property, so keep them confined. As pet owners, it is our jobs to ensure our pets are safe and not a nuisance to the neighbourhood.

Report
tiredoutgran · 11/06/2014 09:03

Whilst I agree completely that it is your responsibility to keep your pets safe it is almost impossible to confine cats without keeping them constantly indoors. Cats are not covered by law like dogs are regarding control and nuisance because it is recognised that they behave in a different manner.

I am not sure about the barbed wire fence being legal, I know it is illegal to have a barbed wire fence on a public footpath (I also know this is pretty much ignored by landowners - we do so ourselves because it is the only way to keep some animals in!) I am not sure how he would stand if a child were to fall into it and injure themselves, if that were possible from your side. I can assure you that it is highly unlikely that your cats would injure themselves on the wire and he is being very naïve if he thinks that will stop them.

The thing with electric fencing and cats is that they don't think like other animals: with birds, deer and foxes, they have no height perception and so will not attempt to jump over it if they get 'stung' because they think it goes all the way up rather than just the height of the top wire. Horses, cattle, sheep and dogs just don't go near it if they have had a belt, unless in panic, in which case they will just run straight through it. Cats don't behave this way and will just jump unless you have it close enough together (or netting) or over it unless it is too high and nothing to climb on. If your neighbour were to get a belt off the fence then he may take action against you and you would need to erect warning signs to protect yourself.

I think you really need to have a very calm chat with your neighbour and find out why he has such a problem with your cats. You could also discuss ways to try and stop them, if you were to erect a 12ft heavy mesh fence using the trunks as posts and place paving slabs at the bottom to prevent them getting under, then that may work providing there is nothing for them to climb on. Perhaps if he realises you are happy to try and work with him he will stop trying to hurt your cats.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.