Dog fence no match for amorous camels

The 3,500-mile partition is twice as long as the Great Wall of China but cannot stop dromedaries in search of a mate

By Kathy Marks in Sydney
Published: 22 April 2007

One of the world's biggest man-made structures, Australia's Dog Fence, is under threat from amorous wild camels barging into it in search of partners.

The 3,500 mile-long fence, stretching into Queens land from the Great Southern Bight in Western Australia, was built in the 1950s to keep dingoes and wild dogs out of sheep-grazing areas in the east. Kangaroos and emus regularly damage it, but the camels - descendants of animals brought to Australia in the 19th century to open up the interior - have become the biggest problem. continue...