diff --git a/networking/brctl.c b/networking/brctl.c
index cbdc7c6..586ca9b 100644
--- a/networking/brctl.c
+++ b/networking/brctl.c
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@
 
 #define filedata bb_common_bufsiz1
 
+#if ENABLE_FEATURE_BRCTL_SHOW
 static int read_file(const char *name)
 {
 	int n = open_read_close(name, filedata, COMMON_BUFSIZE - 1);
@@ -120,7 +121,6 @@
 	return n;
 }
 
-#if ENABLE_FEATURE_BRCTL_SHOW
 /* NB: we are in /sys/class/net
  */
 static int show_bridge(const char *name, int need_hdr)