An analysis of bait-take and non-target impacts during a fox-control exercise

Abstract

The effectiveness of a fox-control exercise at the Beecroft Peninsula, New South Wales, was evaluated by examining the change in proportion of baits taken during free-feeding and after lethal baiting in four different habitats (heath, forest, coastal scrub, beach), and the change in number of radio-collared foxes alive during the course of the baiting exercise. The change in proportion of baits taken by non-target species was also examined over the course of the study. Bait take declined by 97% from the initiation of poison baiting to the final day of poison baiting eight days later with significantly more baits being taken in heath than in any other habitat. Four out of six radio-collared foxes died on the first day of poison baiting while the other two foxes died within ten days of the start of the poison-baiting session. Black rats, currawongs and ravens took a small number of baits throughout the baiting exercise.