Spanning 3,488 miles of southeastern Australian desert, the Dingo Fence is the longest fence in the world, built so that no southeastern Aussie would ever again shriek “a dingo ate my sheep!” Originally constructed back in the 1880s to deter the spread of rabbits, the Dingo Fence was renovated in the early 1900s to block off the wild dogs that had become infamous for devouring Australian sheep.  

Unlike a typical dog fence, the Dingo Fence is surrounded by a 15-foot clearance zone on either side and continues unbroken through thousands of miles of arid land.

Built with a combination of wire mesh and multi-strand electric fence, the six-foot tall-barrier was supposed to be the ultimate deterrent to the sheep-eating wild dogs that killed millions of Australian animals every year.

 

But although it began as a success, the Dingo Fence has seen major unintended consequences that have negatively impacted the surrounding environment and even the sheep themselves. 

According to atlasobscura