Every fence, including conservation fences, have ecological "winners and losers", where species, ecological functions, and human communities are affected differently depending on context. Despite this complexity, conservation fences can be useful for mitigating human-wildlife conflicts and slowing habitat degradation, and are increasingly common in many parts of Africa. Here we describe broad trends in conservation fencing across Africa, explore a case study in Kenya, and discuss ways forward for knowing whether to build and how to maintain effective and ethical conservation fencing in the Anthropocene.
