The importation, release, establishment, spread, and early impact on prey animals of the red foxVulpes vulpesin Victoria and adjoining parts of south-eastern Australia

Abstract

Based on new evidence (700 records), this paper provides a detailed account of the importation, release, occurrence, establishment, spread, and early impact on prey animals of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes, in Victoria and adjacent parts of south-eastern Australia. Foxes were imported to Victoria on at least nine occasions between 1845 and 1879, mainly for sporting purposes, and were released directly into the wild on at least five occasions between 1845 and 1873. Foxes may also have been bred in captivity, as some were exhibited at agricultural shows in 1869 and 1872. Releases in 1845 near Geelong and in about 1868 and 1871 near Ballarat did not persist. The prevalence of guns in the rural community, together with a culture of shooting animals for sport, and the broadscale deployment of poison to kill dingoes, feral dogs, and rabbits, apparently conspired to restrict the rapid establishment and spread of foxes across Victoria before 1880. The main point of successful establishment was in Werribee district, ...