Predation by the European Red Fox Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus,1758) was listed as a KEY THREATENING PROCESS on Schedule 3 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 [20 March 1998].
Foxes are an adaptable and elusive predator common in rural and urban areas throughout southern Australia. They do not appear to favour any particular habitat and the main determinants of their population size and distribution appear to be food supply, disturbance of natural habitats and refuge availability.
Since their introduction into Australia in the 1870s, foxes have contributed to severe declines and extinctions of a suite of native fauna, particularly among medium-sized (450-5000 g) ground-dwelling and semi-arboreal mammals, ground-nesting birds and freshwater turtles. Recent experimental studies have shown that predation by foxes continues to threaten remnant populations of many of these species. In contrast, some studies have found that fox predation has little or no impact on some populations of native prey, including some small mammal populations in dense microhabitats.
Following their listing as a KTP under the TSC Act, the Department of Environment has prepared a Fox Threat Abatement Plan for NSW (Fox TAP). The Fox TAP establishes priorities for fox control for the conservation of biodiversity across all land tenures. In particular, the plan identifies which threatened species are at greatest risk from fox predation and at which sites fox control for these species is most critical. Thus a total of 74 priority sites for fox control have been established, providing recovery actions for 34 threatened species (11 mammals, 15 birds and 8 reptiles).
Undertaking high-frequency broad-area fox control across all land tenures at these priority sites is the central action of the plan. In addition, the plan establishes monitoring programs to measure the response of priority threatened species to fox control. These monitoring programs are fundamental to managing threatened species more effectively. Experiments target rufous bettong, brush-tailed rock wallaby, yellow-footed rock wallaby, black-striped rock wallaby, southern brown bandiscoot, borad-toothed rat, Alberts lyrebird, plains wanderer, malleefowl, Bellinger River turtle and shore nesting birds such as the little tern and pied oystercatcher.
At present, collaborative fox control and/or monitoring programs are established on public lands at all priority sites. Works are being undertaken by the DEC, Department of Primary Industries (Forests NSW) and Department of Lands with support from various rural lands protection boards. However, works on private lands are limited such that the effectiveness of many of the control programs is likely to be compromised by the rapid immigration of foxes from untreated lands. A collaborative project with the five coastal Catchment Management Authorities has recently been funded to expand collaborative control programs on private lands surrounding Fox TAP priority sites.
Predation by the European Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) is listed as a key threatening process under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
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