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Foxes in Australia
Australia has the worst record for recent mammal extinction of
any continent. I would note that this
statement particularly applies to the mainland.
Tasmania
has a better record with the only mammal species believed to be extinct being
the Thylacine.
There are many factors contributing to this terrible
record. It is unfair to blame the European
Fox, Vulpes vulpes.
Fox
Introduction
Foxes did not ask to be brought to Australia. In their native areas they are part of the
ecology. They were brought here several times in the nineteenth century. They were certainly introduced into
Victoria near Melbourne
in 1845
although earlier introductions may have occurred.
They were brought into Australia for recreational hunting. It is
sometimes stated that they were brought in for Rabbit control, but Wild Rabbits
were not introduced until 1859. The
spread of the Fox was aided by people taking them to other areas, and some of
these secondary introductions might have been for Rabbit control.
The real culprits were those people who wanted to
recreate an English society in Australia
and failed to recognise the unique gem of a country under their noses.
They are
Here Now
However, Foxes are here now and they are probably the
worst of all the introduced animals in their effect on Australia’s
unique wildlife. It is no good me
condemning the people who brought them here many years ago. The Foxes need to be handled now.
Fox Control
In the areas where a serious effort has been made to
control Foxes over a large area, the native animals are making a comeback from
the brink of extinction.
Cruelty
I do not like the killing of animals; I do not even
eat them. Many of the methods that have
been used to control Foxes must have caused some distress to these intelligent
animals. Personally, although I
recognise the need for Fox control,
I am not really in favour of it.
I support the total extermination of all foxes in Australia. I would note that
killing animals is not the only way of exterminating them. Birth control is another, more humane way.
Researchers on Cane Toads have come up with several
innovative possible ways of controlling Cane Toads, and they rightly point out
that some of these could be used to control other pests including Foxes.
Foxes in Tasmania
One of the reasons that Tasmania
has a much better record of retaining their native animals than the rest of Australia
is that it had no Foxes.
In about 2001 Foxes were deliberately introduced to Tasmania. I wonder about the sanity of the person who
did this.
Extermination
The Tasmanian government is planning to get rid of
all the foxes in the state. The state
government has been given 1 million dollars in federal assistance to do
this. Clearly this will not be enough,
but at least the decision had been made.
Cost
Nationally the cost to farmers and others from losses
due to Foxes has been estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars a
year.
When a regional fox control program has been
implemented, farmers have found the economic advantages to far outweigh the
cost.
National
Extermination
We need a national approach to the total extermination
of this introduced animal.
Sources
http://www.animalcontrol.com.au/foxes.htm
http://www.thefoxwebsite.org/populations/australia.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/00128/en/foxes/history.htm
http://www.animalpest.com.au/PDF/foxes.pdf
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