Other control methods available include Canid Pest Ejectors, as well as ground shooting, trapping, and fencing. The most common control method is baiting, which involves laying poison bait designed to target foxes. Once you've identified fox activity, there's a range of control methods you can use to help manage their populations. ![]() The best thing to do is familiarise yourself with these key signs and to look out when monitoring your property. Key signs of fox activity include tracks, dung or scats, fox dens, as well as animal carcasses or bite marks. The first step to managing foxes on your property is to identify fox activity. Foxes are also a potential biosecurity risk and may be implicated in the spread of diseases such as rabies if it were to ever enter the country. The economic impact of foxes is estimated to be $227.5 million per year. In fact, almost any animal up to 5.5 kilograms in weight is at risk of fox predation. Foxes have a devastating impact on native wildlife across Australia, currently threatening 14 species of bird, 48 mammal species and 12 reptile species. Foxes are highly adaptive and can be found in both regional and urban areas with their highest densities being found where resources are most abundant. Foxes also have relatively large home ranges and can travel up to 10 to 15 kilometres per night in search for food and don't always return to the same den.įoxes are opportunistic predators and will eat a wide variety of foods, including small to medium size mammals, rodents, as well as carrion. Foxes generally have three to five cubs per litter, which are typically born between August and September. Males mature at nine to ten months of age, and 85% of females breed in their first year. ![]() Today, foxes are found throughout all states and territories except Tasmania.įoxes breed once per year, commencing around June and July. However, populations quickly spread across the country closely following that of rabbits. The European Red Fox was introduced to Australia in the mid 1800s for hunting purposes. This video will give an overview of foxes as an invasive species and explores common control methods landowners can use to help manage populations. Foxes are a highly destructive invasive species and pose a significant threat to livestock and native wildlife. Hi, I'm Lucy Reiger from the Established Invasive Animals Team here at Agriculture Victoria. For example, there are as many as 16 foxes per km 2 in Melbourne while in temperate agricultural areas, their densities are estimated to be around 4–8 per km².Įstablished Invasive Animals Best Practice Management video series Population density in Victoriaįox densities are often higher in urban areas, than they are in rural areas, because resources including food, water and shelter are often plentiful in this environment. Victorian habitats are highly favourable for foxes. In Victoria, foxes are found in a range of environments including urban areas, alpine heaths, rainforests, coasts and the Mallee. They have also been reported to occur in Tasmania. Distribution in Victoriaįoxes are found in all mainland states and territories. Today foxes occur over 75 per cent of Australia and their range is strongly linked with that of rabbits. Within 100 years, foxes had reached their current distribution on the Australian mainland. Only 20 years after their introduction, foxes were declared as a pest species in Victoria. Populations History of spreadįoxes were introduced to Australia for hunting purposes during the mid-1850s, with most releases being around Melbourne. ![]() Read more about the invasive animal classification. ![]() Other common name/s: European red fox, foxįoxes are declared as established pest animals in the state of Victoria under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (CaLP Act).
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