In the early 1970's Botswana had to control the movement of wildlife into its beef herds in order to control diseases infecting the cattle. As beef was the country's largest export at the time the government of Botswana embarked on a policy of erecting fences in strategic places across the country.
Most of these fences were erected without a feasibility study being carried out with the result that the migration routes of a number of species have been cut off and tens of thousands of animals have died in the past two decades from the denial of a route to water and new grazing.
Possibly the best known fence is the fence that separates Maun from the Okavango Delta.