A swamp wallaby – one of the few native mammals surviving the fox invasion. Picture by Wil Allen
Story by JAMES WOODFORD
Having left Sydney five years ago, we have discovered that farms and forests are not just being over run by seachangers but also by a secret underworld of swarms of exotic pests.
In the past few months down here on the NSW south coast we have lost six of our laying hens to foxes who have become so brazen that they have even taken several chickens in broad daylight. Rabbits have destroyed almost an entire landcare planting – pulling out hundreds of seedlings. Frighteningly huge, feral black rats chewed the bottom out of a virtually brand new surfboard and, after a century of neglect, our paddocks are next to useless for pasture because they are full of exotic weeds and a tussock that is behaving like a weed.
Indian myna birds are for the first time being seen in the area in covert groups of two and three.
But the biggest shock of all was that we recently did a preliminary monitoring program in our 70 acre Voluntary Conservation Agreement area.
See Secret Camera Footage of Feral Fox here
That protected forest is meant to be a haven for wildlife and, according to a local biodiversity officer with the Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority, Wil Allen, contains plenty of good habitat for small native mammals. In fact it is ideal for an endangered potoroo. So when Wil set up three hidden cameras and left them for a fortnight he had high hopes of capturing some endangered marsupial action – the camera has the capacity to shoot day and night, stills and film.
On the designated day for retrieving the cameras we were dismayed to see spectacular footage of an exquisitely beautiful fox.
The sensation on watching the film was as if we had paid to see Sound of Music and ended up in the cinema where American Psycho was screening. In fact over a fortnight we had captured numerous films and photos of the feral pest. But in spite of two weeks of recording there was not one small native marsupial or native rat picked up by Wil’s cameras. And if this is happening in our small forest, imagine what the story is like writ large across the landscape of our region, the state, the nation. It is no wonder we are facing a terrifying biodiversity crisis.
In a note sent to us after his visits Wil wrote:
‘The habitat appears to be of the type that should support an abundance of different ground-dwelling species such as bandicoots, potoroos, bush rats and swamp rats. I would have expected a great deal of interest from the local possums also. We only found Foxes, Swamp Wallabies (pictured above) and Eastern Grey Kangaroos…I can’t help thinking it is the abundance of foxes that may be reducing the levels of these critical weight range species from your area.’
Given that a recent valuation of our property found that our decision to establish a voluntary conservation agreement over our land has reduced its value by 10 per cent, we are not going to continue to provide a lovely home for a fox.
But it is not the kind of fight that can be had with Elmer Fudd hunting laws like those recently proposed to the NSW parliament. The Shooters Party was keen to see hunting in national parks and an expansion of the rules controlling shooting on private land, including some native animals like eastern grey kangaroos. Alarming to opponents was the provision for the deliberate release of some species of exotic ‘game’.
One of the arguments for such hunting is that it will help fight ferals. But the numbers just don’t stack up. In the past two years recreational hunters have killed an average of 622 foxes per year. It’s better than nothing but no-one can pretend such figures represent a co-ordinated fox control program. It is about recreation.
Proof that trying to hunt such creatures with firearms is futile was a report from my neighbour that he had tried unsuccessfully to assassinate Mr Foxy Gentleman. Like a guerrilla in a jungle, conventional weapons don’t work as an eviction method – the bush is thick, time is short and the enemy has reinforcements aplenty.
Assisted by the South East Livestock Health and Pest Authority, we have set up six baiting stations and just completed the first round of baiting with 1080 poison, to which recent research has shown native animals have a level of resistance. In spite of our reluctance to use such a poison, every station had been raided. We plan to run the baiting until at least next year and then monitor the recovery of natives in the forest.
On a second front, we recently free-fed our thriving population of rabbits from a big bag of carrots and then at the end of a week laid a kilogram of shredded carrot infected with the calicivirus – also supplied by the local pest authority. Around a dozen of our neighbours went through the same process….so fingers crossed soon we will make a dent in the area’s bunny population.
With help from the local Small Farms Incentive Program, we have just sown our front paddock with native wallaby grass. And so far so good – it is growing well.
Maybe we are wasting our time. After all what is the point of feral control in one small place amid an ocean of invasive species? Then again maybe we might make a difference to even just a single population of a single native species that doesn’t stand a chance against that single lovely but deadly feral fox. It is the least we can do to get rid of him. An even better outcome would be if more neighbours joined the war on ferals but not just with guns. Hunting is an old-fashioned rural way, which has proven ineffective.
Even so, the fight is worth having. As Wil Allen wrote in his note to us:
‘It would be a very worthwhile project to attempt to follow changes in native wildlife abundance as feral animals are controlled.’
We can control ferals – at least make life harder for them – but not with bullets alone. The first step is deciding that pests, like all bad guests, are not welcome.
This piece was first published in the Sydney Morning Herald 11/07/09
Hi James
It must have been so disappointing to see the Fox appear on the screen – when hoping for a Potoroo.
And you can see him “reading” the country with his nose. What chance to small marsupials have?
Best of luck with the baiting program.
Denis
I enjoyed & valued reading in SMH today 11.7.09 your experience on exotic ferals on your 28ha conservation area (incl filming the beautiful fox) and 22.6.09 Mystery of the Montague Island ‘Mouse’ (which gave me hope).
I look forward to further factual articles, covering the bad and the good, so that we can learn best how to reverse the ecological errors of the last 200 years.
I have been heartened by the increased sightings of swamp wallabies and brush turkeys in Sydney’s Northern Suburbs, presumably beneficiaries of coordinated council fox baiting …. but also wish to learn how we can promote the smaller less visible species. I assume our bush care volunteerism helps here, but we need empirical evidence to confirm that our efforts are worthwhile and not misguided.
Keep up the good work and sharing your experiences.
Adrian
Hi James
I guess you can count yourself lucky that feral cats aren’t also as abundant as the fox in your area.
As someone who hunts in NSW state forests I think the figures on foxes taken can be a bit misleading. I know pesonally I don’t target foxes specifically when hunting in SF and the few I have taken have been while I was after bigger game.
I do hunt for foxes specifically when requested to do so by private land owners and usually take 20-30 per year.
I think the anti fur campainers have a lot to answer for in regards to the explosion in fox numbers in the past 20 years. When fox skins were worth money foxes were heavly hunted and numbers remained low. Since the demise of the fur industry they haven’t really been targeted by hunters.
Perhaps we need to push for the introduction of a fox bounty similar to one run in Vic a few years ago that resulted in from memory over 100,000 foxes being shot.
If the fox was made financially attractive to hunters be it through a bounty system or a fur industry with Aus fox skins marketed as being enviromently benifical I think we would see a dramatic reduction in fox numbers.
While I don’t see shooting as a way to eliminate the fox I think it is the most humane and species specific method of keeping number at low levels.
We just need to provide hunters with a financial incentive to lift the fox to the top of the list of game they wish to hunt.
Sean
Hope you can get it under control James. At our place, in northern NSW, we have foxes and dogs roaming the valley and have found dead wallabies. I’m thinking of putting up cameras like yours to see what’s going on.
Hi James
I live in the leafy North Shore of Sydney and the National Park has bee baiting foxes in Lane Cove National Park for some time now. In the last few years there has been a population explosion of Brush Turkeys which I can only put down to the elimination of the foxes. I have also seen echidnas and other small mammals not seen before. Good luck with your crusade.
You write “our paddocks are next to useless for pasture because they are full of exotic weeds and a tussock that is behaving like a weed.” Have you considered Peter Andrews’ ideas, that if you slash the weeds they will compost into the soil until natives return and out-compete the weeds? Certainly some species of tussock will flourish in overgrazed livestock paddocks because the livestock mostly avoid eating them; they help to regenerate as the area beneath the tussock is then able to regain some soil fertility and structure, and is not compacted by the beat of cattle/sheep hooves while the tussock sits atop it.
I think you are a bit quick discrediting shooting as a successful control of foxes. Poisons should be part of the solution but as the dead foxes are rarely seen you don’t know for sure what you are killing. Native animals in Western Australia are more resistant to 1080 poison than introduced animals, but here in Eastern Australia they do not have that resistance.
Shooting can be very successful and has been in the past. In Victoria over 160,000 foxes were killed in a few months when a bounty was put on them. The figure of 622 foxes is only what about 6,000 Game Council conservation hunters shot in state forests. Most of those people would not have been targeting foxes, but only shot them when the opportunity arose. There are no figures for what was shot on private property, in NSW but it would likely be over 100,000.
I would advise you to spotlight and shoot the foxes you see in your land-care block, and then follow up with a short poisoning program to get the light shy remaining foxes. Spreading large numbers of baits over a long period will kill many of the native animals you wish to protect.
So your herald article says you’re using 1080 baits. I guess that must make you so proud of yourself. Have you seen the way they kill? Look it up on youtube.
Then consider what it does to things like native birds of prey which eat the poisoned carcasses…
Finally when you’ve realised what a wonderful thing you’re not doing for the environment it’s time to either move back to the city where you belong or seek the help of some local shooters to come and shoot the foxes raiding your property.
Between Katoomba & Orange I rarely see fewer than a half doz. roadkill foxes, fairly evenly distributed. Rabbit bodies are also starting to increase in frequency (calici immunity?) on the roadside but I have been surprised at the reduction in macropod corpses, under a score last week.
Shooting would have to be the least effective way of controlling any feral pest, tho’ hard to beat for satisfying bloodlust. Surely the only way to revive the land is to have people living on it, understanding that, with few exceptions, the last 200 yrs has been an ethical, ecological and economic disaster, as perfect an example as can be found of eating one’s seedstock, selling the family silver and shitting in the well?
great story. thanks, James.
Maybe this one is known to you, otherwise it might be helpful. I recently visited Warrnambool to write about a penguin protection project. The community trains Maremma Sheep dogs to protect little fairy penguins on Middle Island from the foxes. (I learned that foxes by now have learned to oceanswim in this country… aren’t they real Aussies…;)?? ) .
One angle of the story lead me to a guy called Swampy – apparently the producer of the only real free range eggs in Victoria – who kickstarted the idea of Maremmas as guard dogs over there. Seeing his heard of around 5000 chooks running absolutely free on an old almost unfenced paddock was amazing. Only 2 Maremmas chase foxes away, by barking mostly. Swampy (his real name is Alan Marsh) said: without the dogs there wouldn’t be any -affordable – free range eggs, fencing that huge area would just be too expensive. Very impressive. Could this be an idea for your place maybe? don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re interested in more infos on this. all the best Julica
I wonder about your decision to use 1080 (sodium fluoroacete). 1080 occurs naturally in some plants in western Australia, so native animals there have evolved with a tolerance of it. The same cannot be said of native animals on the east coast where those plants do not occur, and there is plenty of information available claiming (rightly or wrongly – I am not a scientist) that it harms a wide range of native wildlife in the east.
I also agree with Chris that the figure of 622 for foxes shot in NSW is ridiculously low…and to use your words just doesn’t ‘stack up’. You should have been more wary of that anti-shooter statistic. I’m a recreational shooter (of vermin) and I would shoot 50 foxes a year myself just on weekend hunts on farms…I know a handful of more keen friends that would shoot double that.
However, even if you do poison or shoot foxes you will quickly find that another takes its place. They are extremely territorial – the only reason you have seen just ONE is that he/she is in charge of your patch but if you kill that fox, another will quickly take its place.Trying to get rid of them on a small property is almost futile and a problem that will only overcome over a long period with a lot of cooperation with adjoining landowners.
That both 1080 and shooting have been largely discredited as effective means of control does not bode well for our native species. At a meeting this week of our local property owners bush regen group the bush management officer who came along to talk to us observed that the most effective disruption to fox activity is to fill in their dens and keep ‘em on the move. While hardly an encouraging strategy without a state-wide program this remains the best way to save a few natives. Also in an odd feral irony bear in mind that landowners need to attack feral species simultaneously. By just reducing fox numbers you will encourage rabbit populations by taking out their main predator.
Hi James,
Just heard you on radio… I wonder if there is a slightly more high tech option. If you couple pattern recognition to the cameras and a solar powered remote poison dart delivery platform you have a 24 hour 7 day a week control option. (assuming the cameras do infrared)
That way it is more targeted than simply baiting. If you add an sms notification mechanism to let you know when you have to clear up dead ferals then you don’t deter others coming into the firing line. As long as the pattern recognition can reliably distinguish ferals from natives…Something for the CSIRO lads and lassies to ponder…
Hi James…I too heard you on ABC radio…feral pests are a worry. I have 100acres near Taree and we have a wild dog problem where we have baited and tried to trap the dogs that killed our sheep, local wallabies and even our alpaca purchased to protect the sheep. At least the local eagles enjoyed the free feed. People let their animals out into the bush instead of taking them to the vet to inject them. Our love for non native animals should be slowed and even stopped (refer to your Savannah cat blog). Peter Garrett should get his deptartment to classify animals so it is clear for what not to bring here. Also, each domestic cat and dog to be purchased sterile from registered breeders and microchipped so if an animal is found in the bush the owner is made to responsibible for that animals actions and pay any lost to property. We need to fight the feral crisis with government funding and taking away from the defense budget is one way as we need to fight the feral enemy here as it will affect all Australians in the future…So Mr Rudd…take up the challenge to save the jobs of working australian animals.
I’ve been involved in feral animal control programs in SE NSW for the past few years. There has been great success in removing feral dogs out of SE NSW forest margins (albeit at a cost of $400 per ‘saved’ sheep). However, what we are noticing is that now these top order predators have been removed there has been an exponential increase in the numbers of foxes, cats and deer in dog-controlled areas – arguably having a much bigger impact on the environment than the dogs.
Dear James,
Don’t despond too much on one biodiversity study. I have gone that road too. Apart from different seasons bringing out different company, the biodiversity on a similar-sized acreage (between Young & Cowra) increased remarkably when I was burying compost in the veggie bed. Burrowing bush rats miraculously reinstated themselves, ate the compost, stripped the veggies, & attracted various hitherto- unseen snake species. Redigging veg garden unearthed surprised toads, & so it goes — there are plenty of *** foxes here, and hares and wallabies prevent much natural revegetation. I’m thinking of a serious fencing programme, but what about the echidnas then?