What is better? A cattle-grid or an automated gate?
We believe that an automated gate is the superior option in most circumstance. It gives you the opportunity to prevent livestock movement. It also provides the flexibility to change your mind about whether cattle, sheep or horses can proceed through the entry/exit.
Most importantly (at the moment), you can also deter the travel of humans down your driveway. Crime is on the rise in rural Australia. Have you taken measures to secure your property?
As mentioned previously on the SUN-POWER blog, security is becoming an increasing concern throughout rural Australia. In the past, many of our customers had been toying with the idea of either a cattle-grid or auto-gate to control the flow of stock. Now we are hearing more and more from our customers that security is a majour part of their purchase criteria. In fact, more often than in previous years, this gate lock is being sold with our gate operators due to what appears to be a large-scale increase in theft from farm (& other rural) properties throughout Australia.
According to the Herald-Sun, it appears that the link to the rise in crime could be drug related, with the use of ‘ice’ on a dramatic rise in rural regions. The Australian Institute of Criminology states that ‘Rural and regional crime research indicates that farm crime rates are highest in either highly accessible or very remote areas rather than those in between.’
Whilst it’s not possible to state categorically that an automatic gate operator is going to prevent crime occurring at your place, it does seem a conclusion arrived at by a common-sense assumption that if a would-be-intruder/thief were to arrive at a closed-gateway, they are less likely to proceed on to your property. We imagine they are more likely to look for another property without a secured entry-way. It is our opinion that thieves are lazy scum opportunists who follow the path of least resistance. Put a locked gate in the way and you decrease (we believe) your chances of becoming a victim of theft of heavy machinery, household items etc.
Crime aside, are Cattle Grids always effective for livestock controls? Look at this dash-cam footage from New Zealand! It gave the team here at SUN-POWER Auto Gates a bit of a chuckle.
This photo on Wikipedia is a bit amusing too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_grid#mediaviewer/File:Sheep_escape_cattle_grid.jpg
Then of course, there’s the dog issue when it comes to cattle-grids. Unless you’ve got a Kelpie, Border-Collie, Blue/Red Heeler (or a cross of these varieties), there’s no guarantee that your dog will make it over the cattle grid. Check out ‘Wonderbutt’:
http://www.aic.gov.au/crime_community/communitycrime/rural%20crime.html
http://whatimeant2say.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/weekend-gotaway-night-2/