Economy
Fox: As rare as the Thylacine. Ex-hunter: they don’t exist
The 15th of May 2011 was the 10th anniversary of the reported sighting of a fox by Chris Spencer on Illawarra Road between the townships of Longford and Carrick.
The month of May in 2011 sees the fox program still attempting to 1080-poison an animal that remains hidden and elusive.
After a decade of expenditure – now in the tens of millions of dollars – we still don’t know how many foxes there are and whether they’ve been breeding. The Government has always assumed there are more than the one Mr Spencer reported in 2001 and after a few breeding seasons they might have had a few offspring, but where are the foxes, dead or alive?
According to the fox scat evidence recovered by the Fox Program up to a few years ago, foxes where virtually everywhere in Tasmania – or at least their droppings were. With over 100 remote sensor cameras available these Tasmanian vulpines have remained very camera-shy indeed. Even substantial rewards have failed to produce a Tasmanian fox.
One aspect of this program has been consistent – all the fox evidence on offer comes with questionable provenance. No fox bit or piece – scat or skull, body or blood; foot print or stinking fox skin – comes without anonymous or unreliable witnesses and sensational storylines that require new versions to be offered in retrospect. Transportable evidence and obvious hoaxes are hardly the foundation for confidence.
Tasmania’s 10-year war on foxes has been roundly criticised and questioned by scientists and the Tasmanian public. From the start the fear of foxes has been the main hook for ongoing tax-payer funds. It seems a genuine Tasmanian fox remains as rare as the presumed-extinct thylacine.
The Examiner Saturday:
YOU will never hear the blast of a fox hunting horn or the words “tally ho away” in Tasmania because there are none here, according to veteran fox huntsman Peter Fraser.
Mr Fraser, of Launceston, worked throughout the United Kingdom for five fox hunting clubs over 20 years.
The now-retired Mr Fraser is adamant the fox isn’t elusive in the state – it just doesn’t exist.
Almost $70 million has been dedicated to the Fox Eradication Program and is boosted annually by a further $3.1 million from the budget.
Last month The Examiner reported there had been no new fox evidence discovered in the past financial year and only three scats were found in 2009-10.
During the UK fox hunting season Mr Fraser would regularly lead a pack of 30 hounds and 300 hunters, and has also hunted with Prince Charles.
“For foxes, Tasmania would be Utopia, a smorgasbord,” Mr Fraser said.
“There’re lots of little hoppy things and a lot of native animals that would be an easy catch for them.
“They love the chase and the kill, they would kill every lamb in that paddock, so there’s no way they’d dig in the ground for a bit of old baited meat.”
Mr Fraser said he offered his skills and expertise to the state government when the program was first established but was told he wasn’t needed.
He believes he now understands why – they don’t exist.