Fox culling in Victoria record numbers

Z

zooman

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Shooters have killed more than 5000 foxes in less than two months since the State Govt placed a bounty on them.

The $10.00 per scalp bounty has distributed $52,000. With an estimated 39,000 foxes to be culled in the year ahead.
 
That's a good start.

:p

Hix
 
A few years ago, I was watching a 'Really Wild Show' programme about Tasmania. I was really cross when the programme stated that red foxes had been introduced to Tasmania in 2000. Tasmania has many species of native mammals that have become extinct on the Australian mainland. There was no excuse to introduce red foxes (I don't feel that people have the right to hunt foxes for 'sport'), as it was obvious what would happen. Hopefully, the fox can be eradicated in Victoria and Tasmania, although I would like to see thylacines running wild in Tasmania.
 
Dassie rat said:
A few years ago, I was watching a 'Really Wild Show' programme about Tasmania. I was really cross when the programme stated that red foxes had been introduced to Tasmania in 2000. Tasmania has many species of native mammals that have become extinct on the Australian mainland. There was no excuse to introduce red foxes (I don't feel that people have the right to hunt foxes for 'sport'), as it was obvious what would happen. Hopefully, the fox can be eradicated in Victoria and Tasmania, although I would like to see thylacines running wild in Tasmania.
Click to expand...

The red fox is an introduced species in Tasmania, but it was not deliberately introduced. They appear to have stowed away on container ships and disembarked in Tasmania. Apparently a lot of money is being spent on a taskforce to eradicate them before they can get established.

:p

Hix
 
I believe there's evidence that foxes were deliberately introduced to Tasmania (as well as stowing away on ferries) but I don't have time to search out sources right now.
 
The Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service (Parks & Wildlife Service - Foxes in Tasmania) says it is unproven how foxes may have arrived in Tasmania. They may have been deliberately introduced and/or arrived via an accidental introduction via cargo ship or other. http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=6536, Feral foxes in Australia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://www.feral.org.au/pest-species/fox/, The fox website | Populations | Australia and http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=6536 say that the fox was introduced, but a fox escaped from a container ship in 1998.

DPIPWE - Fox Impact on Wildlife shows the chaos caused by foxes in Australia, as well as vulnerable species in Tasmania.

It does seem that the fox has been deliberately introduced into Tasmania, but there have also been a few escaped 'pets' and some foxes that have escaped from ships.
 
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