Volunteers remove nearly 100 miles of barbed-wire fences that disrupt desert wildlife

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KJZZ | By Connor Greenwall

Published January 20, 2026 at 4:29 PM MST

Desert Fence Busters volunteers displaying their recently removed, hand-rolled barbed wire.
Desert Fence Busters volunteers displaying their recently removed, hand-rolled barbed wire.

The Desert Fence Busters remove abandoned barbed-wire fences that disrupt wildlife migration.

The Tucson-based volunteer group has made it their mission to remove these fences.

Abandoned fences along former farmland and ranches, some up to 100 years old, get in the way of wildlife migration. The fences can divert animals away from food and water, force them to travel further, and can trap them.

“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 with the Desert Fence Busters. “But since it doesn’t serve any productive purpose, all it really does do is get in the way.”

Hannigan said the Desert Fence Busters have already removed 95 miles of fences from the Sonoran desert since the group started in December of 2021.

The Desert Fence Busters work in collaboration with Arizona Game and Fish and Pima County as well as the National Parks service. Most removal efforts are on county and city property, but the group also works with local ranchers and landowners who want similar removal efforts on their property.

“We’ve seen plenty of evidence of animals that have been caught in barbed wire, and it’s a fairly ugly way to die,” Hannigan said. “So we’re trying to promote wildlife connectivity.”

Hannigan said removed barbed-wire fences are taken to a metal recycler. So far, the fence busters have removed 98,000 pounds of fences across 16,000 acres.

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