European red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Foxes were originally introduced to mainland Australia in the 1850s for recreational hunting and spread rapidly.

Today, they are abundant in all states and territories except Tasmania, where they are still at low density.

Foxes are opportunistic predators and scavengers and have few natural predators in Australia.

Red foxes pose a threat to livestock, as they prey on poultry, lambs and kids. In high density areas they may also be a health risk to humans and pets, through transmission of diseases such as distemper, parvo virus and mange.

Evidence suggests red foxes are a primary cause in the decline and extinction of many small and medium-sized rodent and marsupial species in Australia. They also prey on many bird species.

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Fox PestSmart Toolkit documents:

General:

• PestSmart Factsheet: European Red Fox (340kb PDF)

Management and control:

• PestSmart Case Study: coordinated group fox programs (270kb PDF)
• PestSmart Case Study: Coordinated fox shooting program (1 Mb PDF)
• PestSmart Case Study: Bounceback – fox control in the Flinders Ranges (600 kb PDF)
• PestSmart Factsheet: Fox shooting and hunting (400 kb PDF)
• PestSmart Factsheet: Fox Bounties (360 kb PDF)
• PestSmart: IA CRC Product Pipeline (370kb PDF)
• PestSmart DVD: Introduction to using foot hold traps for the capture of wild dogs and foxes

More information:

• West, P (2008). Assessing invasive animals in Australia 2008. National Land & Water Resources Audit and Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra.
• Fitzgerald, G. and Wilkinson, R. (2009). Assessing the social impact of invasive animals in Australia. Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra, Australia.
• Gong, W., Sinden, J., Braysher, M. & Jones, R. (2009). The economic impacts of vertebrate pests in Australia. Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra, Australia.
• Jones, R., Saunders, G. & Balogh, S. (2006). An economic evaluation of a pest management control program: ‘Outfox the fox’. Economic Research Report No. 29. NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange.
• McLeod, R. (2004). Counting the Cost: Impact of Invasive Animals in Australia, 2004. Cooperative Research Centre for Pest Animal Control, Canberra.

 

 

Contributors: PestSmart Toolkit for Foxes
Lynette McLeod, Glen Saunders – NSW Dept. of Primary Industries, Invasive Animals CRC

This section is currently under construction. Please check back regularly for updates.