Tasmania’s controversial Fox Eradication Program has again come under attack, with a Government-commissioned report calling for an overhaul.
The independent review found the program has failed to meet key objectives, is plagued by internal communication problems and is broadly opposed by the community.
Former Parks and Wildlife chief Max Kitchell finished his report in March, but the State Government has taken six months to make it public.
It calls for a review of the program, saying: “large holes in baiting coverage appear to have been experienced”; and “the program has not rolled out at the pace envisaged.”
The report has called for baiting to be scaled down and the use of sniffer dogs increased.
The long-running program is yet to uncover a live fox.
Its unpopularity has been blamed on poor communications with the community and within the taskforce.
“If a system exists to promote information flow across the program it is clearly deficient,” the report said.
Long-time critic of the program, Independent MLC Ivan Dean, says monitoring needs to be done before baiting.
• Read the Kitchell report here
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