This was shot through the wire. I use a 300mm lens and I make sure that it's at or close to maximum aperture. I also keep the lens on a monopod and I make sure that the front element is as close as possible to the wire, unless the animal is close enough to be disturbed by this (the mopnopod is over the barrier but of course I stay behind it).
The tricky bit is setting things up so that the lens is lined up with the subject through a space between the wires, rather than through the wires themselves. It is possible as you can see - the wires don't register at all, if you get it right.
