Confronting photo of roadside fence highlights 'cunning' invasive killer

Yahoo

21-03-2025

A confronting scene on the side of a rural Aussie road has highlighted the devastating impact an invasive and "cunning" predator is having on the Aussie landscape.
The "trophy fence" seen from a road connecting the southern NSW rural towns of Finley and Deniliquin, is adorned with the carcasses of dozens of foxes, with one Aussie politician telling Yahoo News it sends a strong message to authorities about the shocking problem across the country.
Helen Dalton, independent MP for Murray, described the scene as "gobsmacking" and it prompted her calls for a bounty on foxes in NSW. She believes the government should pay as much as $20 per fox to control their populations.
"There is nothing good about a fox," she told Yahoo News, adding that the confronting image "highlights how many there are in the area".
"It sends a message to the government to get up and do something about it," she said. "If they are truly interested in the environment, biosecurity and farmers, they should have a bounty on them."
Dalton, who lives on a property near Griffith, in the state's southwest, says spotting a fox is a daily occurrence in her area. She says it's having a significant impact on regional communities because foxes prey on young livestock, costing farmers "a fortune".
Covering around 80 per cent of Australia's continental landmass, it's estimated there are more than 1.7 million feral foxes in the country after first being brought over by European settlers. Foxes are also estimated to kill some 300 million native mammals, birds and reptiles each year.
Dalton believes a bounty will incentivise Aussies with a gun licence to shoot the invasive pest, arguing it will "save" the government money.
The Victorian Fox Bounty, which resumed on March 3, offers a $14 reward for each fox scalp brought in, and Helen believes it's an approach NSW could take, although she believes NSW shooters should receive $20 per fox.
"A bounty will pay for a bit of fuel and ammunition and justifies why they should be out there," she said. "It will save the government and save farmers a fortune too. A bounty would encourage people to get going on things the government should be doing."
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Not everyone in Australia agrees with bounties on pest populations. One animal advocate described it as "barbaric and archaic" with another leading expert in invasive pest control believing it would be a 'waste of money.'
Andrew Cox, the CEO of the Invasive Species Council, previously told Yahoo 'It's not a wise use of government funds. And there are more targeted ways to control foxes that would have a bigger impact.
'Foxes definitely cause impacts on agriculture and the environment. But we need to use professional fox controllers and bait programs. And stop putting money into programs that could be easily abused, aren't strategic, and could actually encourage the wrong behaviour.'
Dalton said she doesn't look at it as "dreadful and archaic", she said it's an opportunity to "thank" those who participate in getting rid of pests.
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