Fence and Fencibility: Using Technology to Direct Wildlife
Summary
We examine the virtual fence in terms of how it communicates with wildlife about interspecies boundaries. This is done using a biosemiotic point of departure, which regards interventions as communicative devices tailored to be ‘read’ by wild animal sensory perceptions (Umwelten). Having synthesised some current uses of such technologies in wildlife management, our chapter shows how wires cross in miscommunication across species boundaries. In particular, we show such instances as when wildlife may come to associate a deterrent and boundary marker with food or a nesting opportunity instead of ‘danger – keep out’. We interrogate the impact of technology on the design of these signalling devices. Fences and fence technology are increasingly digitally mediated through AI-based surveillance and automatic responses to ‘discipline’ animals – deterrents which use sounds, light flashes or other repellents. This minimises not only human involvement in wildlife management but also physical manifestations: a fence is no longer a visible structure but is present as coordinates in a software program, felt but not seen. This prompts us to ask whether digitisation changes the nature of fencibility – what a fence is and stands for. In the absence of visual manifestation, but materially enforced by negative stimuli when crossed, what are the implications of these digitally encoded devices for communication across the species in wildlife management?
