[b]Australian foxes are pests not pets, NSW declares[/b]
Source: [url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30373352]BBC News[/url]
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[quote][img]http://i.imgur.com/OaNs2Bm.jpg[/img]
Foxes are not native to Australia and have bred prolifically[/quote]
[quote][b]Foxes have been officially declared a pest in New South Wales but there is concern people are taking them as pets.[/b]
The NSW government has for the first time announced a pest control order for foxes, which are not native to Australia.
The order will make it easier for local land services to target foxes and to control who keeps them in captivity.
Foxes are estimated to be responsible for about A$227.5m (£121m) of damage to Australia's environment and economy.
"The introduction of the pest control order brings NSW into line with all other states in Australia in ensuring that foxes must be controlled by landholders on their properties," said NSW Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson.
"Foxes are not companion animals - this pest control order sends the clear message that they are pests, not pets," she said.
"Foxes cause extensive damage for livestock producers, with studies showing lamb losses to fox predation can be as high as 30%."
[b]Wildlife 'devastated'[/b]
People who currently keep foxes in captivity will have to apply for a permit.[/quote]
[quote][img]http://i.imgur.com/2kbHZAT.jpg[/img]
Foxes cause huge losses for Australia's livestock producers[/quote]
[quote]Sydney Fox Rescue, a registered charity that rescues and finds carers for injured or orphaned foxes, said it was concerned about the lack of provision for ongoing permits.
"We understand that we are just one fox control method amongst many, however forcing the closure of our rescue means removing the only no-kill option for foxes currently available in NSW," said the group's president, Charlie Jackson-Martin.
He said that would lead people to keep foxes illegally, result in poorer animal welfare and, ultimately, fewer foxes being removed from the wild.
He said all foxes re-homed by the shelter were neutered.
"Reducing wild fox numbers is our overall goal. It is our understanding that there are around 120,000 foxes in Sydney."
But Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (Wires) chairman Bill Thompson welcomed the government's decision.
Mr Thompson said foxes were having a devastating effect on a wide range of native animals. He said they killed birds, small mammals and reptiles and could infect wombat burrows with parasitic mites that carry the skin disease mange.
"It is just a horrible death," he said. "By the time we see wombats that have caught mange they are in such a state they have to be euthanised."
Mr Thompson said he understood why some people saw foxes as attractive animals "but that does not make them good for the Australian environment".[/quote]
A pet fox? I don't think you could domesticate/tame a damn fox...
They are a fucking menace in Aussieland, eradicate them. For every fox that exists, almost ten native species dies. They are akin to lionfish in the Gulf of Mexico.
buuuuut isn't livestock also not native to austrailia?
there are strains of foxes that are domesticated, but taking a fox out of the wild as a pet is probably not a good idea unless you are willing to accept that it is still very much a wild animal
breading domesticated foxes (even if it was to see if one could domesticate any animal) was probably one of the USSR's greatest lasting achievements
They've been pests for a long time.
Hell, there used to be a scheme that paid you to hunt them.
[QUOTE=Sableye;46665509]buuuuut isn't livestock also not native to austrailia?
there are strains of foxes that are domesticated, but taking a fox out of the wild as a pet is probably not a good idea unless you are willing to accept that it is still very much a wild animal[/QUOTE]
You can still get permit to keep one as a pet, but the fact is that foxes are fucking up Australia's ecosystem really fucking hard.
[editline]8th December 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=Bradyns;46665514]They've been pests for a long time.
Hell, there used to be a scheme that paid you to hunt them.[/QUOTE]
Bring it back.
I don't know anything about Australia's ecosystems nor politics but foxes are adorable creatures and they're most definitely pets and they're awesome and we should all cuddle them
[QUOTE=Catscratch;46665534]I don't know anything about Australia's ecosystems nor politics but foxes are adorable creatures and they're most definitely pets and they're awesome and we should all cuddle them[/QUOTE]
lol i bet you pick up wild cats all the time too
(this can only end in physical pain from my experience)
[QUOTE=Water-Marine;46665488][media]http://youtube.com/watch?v=a7DprIAVKLQ[/media]
Pets[/QUOTE]
a mangy, hungry animal takes food from a human
nigga that means most animals alive can be classified as "pets"
[QUOTE=Slade Xanthas;46665498][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q27TuO0G0MI[/media]
actually they can be, at least moreso if you get one from SibFox, Siberian domesticated strain breeder[/QUOTE]
Well... I stand corrected. Now I want a pet fox. :v:
[editline]8th December 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=Sableye;46665509]buuuuut isn't livestock also not native to austrailia?[/QUOTE]
Straya also has a pest issue with toads too (someone correct me where I'm wrong here). What the hell is going on down there, where every non-native animal introduced to their ecosystem breeds like crazy and gets out of control? :P
rabbits, frogs, foxes
australia has all sorts of things out of control
[QUOTE=Catscratch;46665534]I don't know anything about Australia's ecosystems nor politics but foxes are adorable creatures and they're most definitely pets and they're awesome and we should all cuddle them[/QUOTE]
Australia's ecosystems have been isolated for literally tens of thousands of years. A lot of it's species are only found in Australia. As a result, it's super sensitive to changes. Cane toads, dogs, cats, foxes, fucking rabbits, carp, even Dingoes are completely ruining our natural ecosystem. They've got no natural predators, and in some cases, even the mighty saltwater croc is fucked if he eats a cane toad. Our animals have no natural protection. Although occasionally a dog will pick a fight with an emu and get it's fucking guts ripped out. That's rare. Invasive species cost australia so much fucking money it isn't even funny, and several animals are now just straight up gone because of it. It's why we have some of the strictest customs in the world, we can't afford for things to be let in.
[QUOTE=bitches;46665587]rabbits, frogs, foxes
australia has all sorts of things out of control[/QUOTE]
Does that include retardation amongst political leaders?
[QUOTE=The Aussie;46665596]and in some cases, even the mighty saltwater croc is fucked if he eats a cane toad.[/QUOTE]
Oh wow. My guess is that "crocs will be crocs" and will definitely eat toads (along with anything else they can find), are those poisonous?
[QUOTE=Pretiacruento;46665484]A pet fox? I don't think you could domesticate/tame a damn fox...[/QUOTE]
You can domesticate them the same way dogs were domesticated from wolves. Selective breeding over several generations can yield an animal with a much more predictable behavior. The downside is though that you also lose some of the traits that you originally wanted in the animal like various instincts, abilities and even fur color.
There was a domestication experiment with wild Russian foxes via selective breeding, and one bizarre thing they noted was the wildness of the fox was directly related to the fur colors and patterns. They'd start breeding the foxes they observed were tamer with other tame foxes and bred the wild ones with other wild ones and noticed a very distinct change in their coats.
You can't however domesticate a wild fox that you pick up at random, it will always be wild. This is the same problem with wolves and wolf dogs, idiot owners buy them because they want to "own a piece of the wild" and then destroy them because they put them in a tiny quarter acre back yard and expect them to behave like a normal dog. Then when the animal starts behaving like it normally would, it's deemed unwanted and destroyed
If you want to own a wolf or a fox or any other exotic pet, ask yourself the question "Can I satisfy the needs of this animal?" If you aren't prepared to dedicate a significant portion of every single day of your life to the animal then don't get one. You'll need to study the animals' behavior thoroughly, provide it with companionship, train it to not be destructive, provide stress relief and tons of exercise.
It's probably a pretty silly suggestion, but... what about birds? Crows and hawks usually eat frogs. Exhibit A:
[video=youtube;5Nrz7cGQcJU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nrz7cGQcJU[/video]
[IMG]http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gEpW4b8IOMw/hqdefault.jpg[/IMG]
This is news to me, I always thought they were classified as pests
Frogs =/= Toads.
If anything eats a toad it will die, plain and simple (there are a handful of exceptions, but they are very few and far in between).
[QUOTE=Pretiacruento;46665643]It's probably a pretty silly suggestion, but... what about birds? Crows and hawks usually eat frogs. Exhibit A:[/QUOTE]
Here in the states, you need all sorts of permits to own a raptor (kestrels and falcons are the most commonly kept raptors.) If you kill one and the government finds out, you're in for a heap of trouble.
You could probably get away with keeping a crow if you [I]really[/I] want to. I've heard they're about as smart as rats are.
[QUOTE=ForgottenKane;46665691]Frogs =/= Toads.
If anything eats a toad it will die, plain and simple (there are a handful of exceptions, but they are very few and far in between).[/QUOTE]
There are hundreds of different types of toads, not all of them are toxic to eat or you'd see dead cats everywhere. I used to have a cat that loved to eat toads. I also had a friend with a blue tongued skink that would eat them like candy.
Doesn't Australia also have a hog problem or did they massacre those monsters already?
[QUOTE=Catscratch;46665534]I don't know anything about Australia's ecosystems nor politics but foxes are adorable creatures and they're most definitely pets and they're awesome and we should all cuddle them[/QUOTE]
This poster is a fox, do not trust him.
[QUOTE=ForgottenKane;46665697]Doesn't Australia also have a hog problem or did they massacre those monsters already?[/QUOTE]
The droughts over the last decade and a half massacred the pig populations. With the drought gone though they're coming back.
[editline]8th December 2014[/editline]
Actually, they massacred most animal populations. The natives probably did best though.
Last time I was in the country I drove around an area where every farmer had a section of fence where they'd hang up the foxes they had shot. Some pretty impressive K/D ratios going there
[QUOTE=bitches;46665587]rabbits, frogs, foxes
australia has all sorts of things out of control[/QUOTE]
And your worrying about the things that usually don't try to kill us?
[IMG]https://d3lp4xedbqa8a5.cloudfront.net/s3/digital-cougar-assets/AusGeo/2014/06/13/16315/australias-most-dangerous-eastern-brown-snake.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2013-12/enhanced/webdr07/16/9/anigif_enhanced-buzz-29112-1387205950-19.gif[/IMG]
[IMG]http://d3lp4xedbqa8a5.cloudfront.net/s3/digital-cougar-assets/AusGeo/2013/12/10/32615/shark_crGettyImages_main.jpg[/IMG]
I think there's more things to worry about than foxes
[QUOTE=Catscratch;46665534]I don't know anything about Australia's ecosystems nor politics but foxes are adorable creatures and they're most definitely pets and they're awesome and we should all cuddle them[/QUOTE]
have fun getting killed by your adorable pet
It will turn into a war on foxes, a worthy successor to the Emu War
[QUOTE=Samiam22;46666462]It will turn into a war on foxes, a worthy successor to the Emu War[/QUOTE]
Don't forget who won that war
[QUOTE=The Decoy;46666494]Don't forget who won that war[/QUOTE]
Headlines of 2016: The new nation of Foxtralia
I don't understand how are the status of a pest and of a potential pet mutually exclusive.
Rats and mice are very popular pets, yet they are probably the most generic and common pests at least in European culture.
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