Foxes are one of Australia’s worst pest animals, preying on native wildlife and livestock, spreading weed seed in their scats and spreading nasty diseases.

Foxes cause significant damage to native ecosystems, especially by preying on small-to-medium-sized ground-dwelling mammals and birds. Fox predation has been listed as a key threatening process to our native wildlife. A single fox is estimated to eat about 400 grams of food each night. This amounts to thousands of mammals, reptiles, birds and insects killed each year by a single fox.

In Victoria, red foxes, Vulpes vulpes are declared as established pest animals under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (CaLP Act). Under the CaLP Act, landowners have a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to prevent the spread of, and as far as possible eradicate, established pest animals from their land.

What are my Options?

To significantly reduce fox populations, management requires a combination of control methods. No single control method will work on its own. To be most effective control needs to include a multiple approach.

Available options include:

  • Physical control – trapping and euthanasia of trapped foxes; ground shooting; property hygiene; guardian animals
  • Chemical control – e.g. Poison baiting; den fumigation.

It is also important to work with your neighbours, rather than as individual properties.

The larger the area, the longer it takes for foxes to re-establish, so it is important to work with your neighbours to cover as much land as possible.

BAITING

The most cost-effective way to achieve broadscale fox population knockdown is through coordinated baiting. Baiting should always be supported by other supplementary control techniques as part of an integrated pest animal control program.

Engaging a licensed contractor

Baiting with either 1080 or PAPP involves the use of a restricted Schedule 7 poison, use of which is governed by the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1992 and Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Regulations 2017 

Users of PAPP or 1080 bait must comply with a range of conditions such as having undertaken chemical use training, correct storage & transportation, correct bait application, adherence to distance restrictions, deployment of notifications to neighbours and display of warning signs. 

Bait users need to be an authorised person (1080/PAPP endorsement) and follow the Directions for Use of 1080 and PAPP pest animal baits in Victoria.

 To purchase and use pest animal bait products in Victoria you must either:

  • have an agricultural chemical users permit (ACUP) with a 1080/PAPP endorsement
  • have a commercial operators licence (COL) with a vermin destroyer endorsement.

Landholders will likely need to engage a licenced pest animal contractor to undertake baiting on their property.  You can find local pest animal contactor here: Find a Member – VPMAA

Mandatory Notifications

All adjoining landholders must be notified of the baiting baiting program. These must be received at least 3 days prior to the commencement of poison baiting and no earlier than 10 days prior. Baits are particularly lethal to domestic dogs. Include advice to muzzle or restrain pet dogs and cats for the length of the program.

Warning signs must also be erected at specific entry and thoroughfare points before laying baits.

Timing 

Baiting programs are most effective when done twice a year. This is
because they disrupt both the breeding (late winter/spring) and
migration (autumn) stages of the fox life cycle. For maximum success, make baits available to foxes for at least ten days, checking bait stations at least every two days, and replacing them until no more are taken.

Bait Type

Any toxicants used against foxes must be registered with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). Two toxins are registered for use on foxes in Victoria, sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) and Para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP). Bait type selection is usually determined by local knowledge or user preference. Most baiting programs on the Mornington Peninsula involve the use of PAPP poison as there is an antidote available.

Free feeding

Offering free feed baits (non-toxic) before poison baits is an important part of a considered baiting program. It helps to identify where foxes are feeding, reduce toxic bait wastage and enable a maximum kill of the target species.

Caching

Caching is instinctive survival behaviour displayed by foxes where they move or bury food items for later consumption. It is possible for one fox to cache several baits from a particular bait station. These caches may be located outside the boundary of the property where foxes are being baited, potentially exposing non-target animals such as domestic dogs, to toxic baits.

To reduce the likelihood of bait caching, it is important not to replace poison baits for extended periods of time. You may also consider using canid pest ejectors (CPEs) where you suspect baits are being cached, as they cannot be cached.

Canid pest ejectors

Canid pest ejector, cube of meat attached to spring loaded device in red soil
Figure 4: Canid pest ejector.

CPEs are a relatively new tool for managing foxes and can be used in a similar way to baits (i.e. timing and locations). CPEs are a mechanical device designed to deliver a measured dose of 1080 or PAPP directly into the mouth of foxes. The CPE is activated when a fox pulls firmly, with a force greater than 1.6 kg, in an upward motion on the lure head. This triggers a spring-loaded mechanism that drives a piston into the poison-filled capsule, which propels its (powder or liquid) contents directly into the mouth of the animal.

Advantages of using CPEs include:
  • Poison capsules are sealed and protected from the weather, meaning the toxin remains viable until the CPE is activated by a fox or wild dog.
  • The device is driven into the ground with only the lure head protruding, so it cannot be easily moved or cached by target or non-target species
  • The device can only be activated by an upward pull force greater than 1.6 kg, which is difficult for many smaller non-target species to achieve
  • The CPEs can be used many times, as long as they are well maintained
  • A variety of lure heads can be used to optimise the attractiveness of the CPEs to foxes.

CPEs are a risk to domestic dogs, as dogs can also achieve the required pull force required to activate the device. Therefore, working or pet dogs should be prevented from roaming in areas where CPEs are active.

DEN FUMIGATION

Fumigating breeding, or natal, dens will destroy young fox cubs. The
only registered fumigant for foxes in Australia is carbon monoxide (CO). It is a colourless, odourless gas. It depletes oxygen in the immediate area leading to unconsciousness and rapid death without pain or discernible discomfort.

Although fumigating dens may reduce the number of foxes or problem animals in the local area, it is not effective as a broad scale fox control method.

There are no special training requirements or licences to use carbon monoxide den fumigants to control foxes in Victoria, however it is important to follow the product label for detailed instructions on the use of carbon monoxide den fumigants.

Fumigation should be used when the vixen (female fox) and cubs are confined to the den during August to October. The vixen is only likely to be killed in the den during the first 3 weeks after the birth of her cubs.

Where the den is accessible to appropriate machinery, deep ripping should be used to destroy it. Revisit dens each year to check for any fox activity and to fumigate and destroy dens where necessary.

TRAPPING

The trapping of foxes is governed by the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulations 2019. The use of padded (soft-jaw) leg-hold traps are permitted for use in Victoria. Steel-jaw leg-hold traps (toothed and/or without padding) are illegal. Regulations control the trap type, trap size, trap set, pan tension etc.

Every effort must be made to avoid suffering and death from factors such as exposure, shock, captured limb muscle injury and predation.  Captured animals must be approached carefully and quietly to reduce panic, further stress and risk of injury. Traps must be inspected at a maximum interval of 24 hours. Trapped foxes must be euthanised as quickly and humanely as possible at the site of capture

Trapping using cages or soft-jaw leghold traps is an alternative method of fox control most often used when baits cannot be utilised. If you are planning to use traps to control foxes – the trap specifications, trap checking times, provision of food, water and shade, and humane destruction of trapped foxes must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (POCTA) and associated regulations.

Trapped foxes must be humanely euthanised as soon as possible after capture, with traps checked daily, making it highly labour intensive and adding to the costs.

Soft-jaw leghold traps must have the following characteristics:

  • the jaws have no teeth
  • the jaws are offset to increase the space between them when closed (ie a distance of 6—8 mm remains when the jaws are closed)
  • each jaw has a rubber-like pad to cushion the impact of the jaws on the limb and to prevent the limb sliding out. The padding fills the offset gap when the jaws are closed
  • a spring placed in the anchor chain to act as a shock absorber, reducing the chance of dislocation of the captured limb. Swivels should be located on both ends of the anchor chain to allow the trap to twist as the animal struggles to escape.
  • adjustable pan tension so that an appropriate force is required to depress the pan and trigger the trap. This minimises the chance of non-target animals setting off the trap.

It requires skill to trap a fox. They have a keen sense of smell and can quickly become “trap shy”. A skilled contractor is recommended, particularly where soft-jaw leghold traps are employed.

GUARDIAN ANIMALS

Guardian animals are used to protect domestic stock from wild
predators. Guardian animals used include dogs and alpacas,
and to a lesser extent llamas and donkeys. Four breeds of guard dogs are available in Australia: Maremma, Great Pyrenean, Anatolian Shepherd/Karabash, and Central Asian Shepherd/Ovcharka.

SHOOTING

While shooting is the most target-specific and humane form of fox control, it will not achieve long-term population reductions if undertaken without other techniques. Shooting can educate foxes and make them wary. This often results in difficulty estimating fox numbers as they will be less visible.

Spotlighting, or the use of thermal rifle scops, particularly in late summer and early autumn can account for large numbers of foxes. Young cubs can be easily attracted with a fox whistle at this time. The number of foxes taken from an area drops rapidly after a few nights and it tends to target mainly young, vulnerable foxes.

Daylight drives or battues using a line of beaters or the services of recognised fox hunting clubs to drive foxes before guns can be an effective control tool but is very labour intensive.

The use of firearms to control foxes must conform to relevant firearm legislation and be integrated with other control methods.

Helpful links to additional resources