Pronghorns are the fastest land mammals in the Western Hemisphere, but their long migrations are increasingly blocked by fencing that causes welfare harm and threatens population viability.
Pronghorn welfare is threatened by the fragmentation of their migration routes by agricultural fencing. Animals blocked from seasonal ranges face nutritional stress as they cannot access winter or summer forage. Individual pronghorns attempting to cross impassable fences may become entangled, causing injury and death. The solution is elegantly simple: modifying the bottom wire of existing fences to be smooth and raised allows pronghorn passage while maintaining cattle containment. Wildlife-friendly fencing programs across the American West can restore migration connectivity at low cost per animal benefited.