Baits Target Foxes

February 25, 2000 The Rural News

New South Wales farmers are set to begin a co-ordinated attack on the State's foxes in a bid to protect their livestock and native fauna. NSW Agriculture has urged landowners in rural NSW to take part in a fox-baiting campaign next month.

Foxes endangered native fauna, killed lambs, poultry and deer and passed tapeworms on to livestock NSW Agriculture spokeswoman Suzy Balogh said.

The new campaign follows a successful fox-halting program among 700 landholders in Forbes, Young, Molong, Central Tablelands, Wagga, Dubbo and Condobolin last spring.

"Those landholders are now reaping the benefits of that campaign with a reduction in fox numbers over a large area, resulting in fewer fox attacks on livestock and native fauna," she said.

This year Gundagai, Mudgee-Merriwa and Nyngan would join the campaign, Ms Balogh said.

She said the program was working to establish common baiting times in September and March to achieve better overall control.