Amorous camels wreck dingo fence

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.

The wild camel population, already the largest in the world, doubles every eight years, and the mating season is now under way. Michael Balharry, manager of the South Australian segment, said that frustrated males were ramming their way through the fence to reach females.

The problem with the barrier - twice the length of the Great Wall of China - is that camels could get their heads over it, he said. "If you add a bit and electrify the top of it, maybe this will stop them."