Taking Ferals Out Of Foxground
Illawarra Mercury
Saturday May 7, 2005
LANDOWNERS are about to delete the "fox" from Foxground as they declare war on feral animals.
Farmers in the rural community south of Kiama have reported attacks on newborn calves and poultry while wildlife experts say foxes are wiping out endangered native species. A trapping and shooting program will be partly funded by the National Landcare Program and landowners will contribute half the cost - about $4 per hectare.Organiser Barb Mathie has written to 172 landowners and hopes they will sign up at a meeting at Foxground Rural Fire Service at 2pm today. "The campaign will only work if every landholder joins in. Otherwise foxes will find shelter till the campaign's over, then quickly breed back to the plague levels we're suffering now," she said.The Foxground farmer organised a pilot cull in 2002 that netted 55 foxes and 15 feral goats in just 16 nights.Even in the unlikely event all feral animals are caught, there are no plans for a name change in the hamlet - the "fox" in Foxground refers to the native flying fox.Why foxes are noxious* They attack livestock.* They eat seeds from weeds like blackberry and lantana and help them spread.* Wildlife like the platypus, bandicoot and sugar glider are threatened.* Foxes spread disease to livestock, wombats and even humans.
© 2005 Illawarra Mercury