Facts and Resources

Did You Know

1. There are more foreign plant species in Australia than native ones. 
2. Feral cats and foxes kill >2.6 billion native animals every year in Australia. 
3. The 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires killed or displaced an estimated 1 to 3 billion native animals(Australian Wildlife Conservancy 2023). 

Why should we euthanise the Common(Indian) Myna

Common(Indian) Mynas are an invasive(non native) species to Australia. By law, everyone has a general biosecurity obligation (GBO) to take reasonable and practical steps to minimise the risks associated with invasive plants and animals under their control (Biosecurity Act 2014).

Environmental impacts

• Reduces breeding success of some native parrot species. Competes aggressively for nesting hollows and can break eggs, kill chicks, and evict native parrots from nest boxes or tree hollows.
• Competes for tree hollows with other native wildlife (e.g. possums and gliders). Indian mynas can kill small mammals and remove sugar gliders from hollows.

Economic

• Damages fruit, vegetables and cereal crops.
• Spreads weeds such as lantana and fireweed.

Social

• Potential reservoir for diseases such as avian malaria.
• Large roosts and nests can cause noise, mess, potential allergies and fire hazards.
• Can swoop and attack people.

Releasing of non native animals within Australia without a permit or permission would be an offence under the Biosecurity Act 2014.

Environmental biosecurity is the protection of the environment and social amenity from the negative effects associated with invasive species; including weeds, pests and diseases. It occurs across the entire biosecurity continuum: pre-border preparedness, border protection and post-border management and control(Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, 2023).

Australia has the worst extinction rate in the world

Most Australians don’t know that we’ve got the worst mammalian extinction rate in the world. we’ve lost over thirty species since Europeans arrived. Its not just the famous Tasmanian tiger, we’ve lost many more vitally important species. Currently, more than seventeen hundred species of fauna and flora are listed by the Australian government as ‘at risk’, which means there’s a chance they’ll go extinct unless we do something about it. The time to act for conservation is now(Bob Irwin and Amanda French 2016).

What can one person do to stop the extinction of Australian animals.

The following quote is from Bob Irwin’s book The Last Crocodile Hunter. (“But Bob I’m only one person. I can’t do anything.” Well let me start off by saying that those people are wrong. Because it is up to every individual to do their little bit too. We cant blame the government for everything thats happened because every single person is responsible, in some way, for the health of our planet.

When i was a kid some species of animals were regarded as common, garden variety. Those animals are now considered threatened or endangered. This is happening before our eyes, in our lifetime. Europeans have only been on this continent for around two hundred years. We’ve done all this damage in the blink of an eye. Most Australians don’t know that we’ve got the worst mammalian extinction rate in the world. we’ve lost over thirty species since Europeans arrived. Its not just the famous Tasmanian tiger, we’ve lost many more vitally important species. Even as i write this, more than seventeen hundred species of fauna and flora are listed by the Australian government as ‘at risk’, which means theres a chance they’ll go extinct unless we do something about it. The time to act for conservation is now

So when people ask,’what can one person do, Bob?, my answer  is that one person can do a hell of a lot. Bob Irwin and Amanda French 2016).

Does RHDV affect humans?

This was considered in great detail by the government and health authorities from the outset. A major study was conducted in which blood from 259 people exposed to RHDV-infected rabbits was tested. There was no evidence of infection. International laboratories in many different countries confirm that human infection with rabbit calicivirus is not known to occur and that no ill effects have been seen, even in people working very closely with the virus.

The virus has been present in more than 40 countries round the world, including most of Europe, since the 1980s, and there have been no scientific or medical reports of human infection from any of these countries.

Is a vaccine available for domestic rabbits?

Yes. Effective vaccines to protect rabbits from RHDV have been developed in Europe and are applied through local veterinary clinics. The vaccine released in Australia is known commercially as Cylap HVD and is made in Spain by Cyanamid. Pet rabbit owners should consult their local vet about vaccination.

Is it safe to eat rabbits infected with RHDV?

One should never eat a sick animal, as it is difficult to identify what it has suffered from, quite apart from considerations of taste. Nevertheless, if an animal infected with RHDV was killed and eaten prior to there being any signs of sickness, the virus would have no effect on humans.

Are other animals affected by RHDV?

There is no scientific evidence, here or overseas, that RHDV infects other animals. Australia has tested for RHDV virus in at least 33 representative animal species, domesticated and wild, native and feral. They were all given large doses of the virus and there was no sign of infection. Worldwide 43 different species have been tested and the virus did not grow in any of them.

What is the most humane method of animal execution?

Death by firing squad(shooting) has been reported to be quicker than lethal injection. In his book ‘Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments’, Alex Boese states that in the 1938 execution of John Deering, the prison physician monitoring the inmate’s heartbeat reported that the time between the shots and complete cessation of rhythm was a mere 15 seconds.

The lethal injection system is set-up under the principle of ‘toxic-redundancy’, so that each drug in isolation is sufficient to bring on death. Bizarrely, the dosage remains constant irrespective of weight, height or build. As a result, scientists have recorded instances in which breathing and cardiovascular activity have been sustained following the injections to humans(Unpopular science 2016).

Foxes and the environment

Bandicoots; like many of the small to medium-sized marsupials of Australia, have undergone several species extinctions and significant contractions in distribution since European settlement because of the introduction of predators (foxes, dogs and cats). Of the estimated 12 species of bandicoot in Australia, approximately half are now extinct, threatened with extinction or extremely rare.

Very few native animals prey on bandicoots. Owls, quolls and dingoes are their only significant natural predators. However, introduced animals such as feral and domestic cats, dogs and foxes pose a significant threat to the future of bandicoots(NSW Environment & Heritage 2016).

Quolls; since 1770, all four species have declined dramatically in numbers. This is mainly because of habitat loss or change across Australia, and introduced predators such as foxes and cats.

Fox territories

When a fox dies, his territory becomes available to nearby foxes. This is why a once-off baiting campaign doesn’t work: neighbouring foxes will quickly move into the newly available territory. To avoid this, fox baiting has to be done at a required intensity for a long period of time in an extensive, coherent area (Bengsen 2014).

How large is a foxes home range?

The average home range of a fox is around 12 km2, but can vary widely and can overlap a lot, especially in sub-adults. Each night, foxes travel 9.4 km on average within their home range (Carter et al. 2012).

What are the fox densities in NSW?

Red foxes are highly adaptable and are found almost anywhere in the Northen Hemisphere (and Australia). Their abundance is restricted by food availablility (Mcdonalds, chickens, residential feeding and Native wildlife, such as Potoroos, Bandicoots, Quolls). When food is superabundant, densities can be as high as 30 foxes per km2. In farmland one family can occupy 1 km2, whereas in suburbs this can range from 0.2-5 families per km2. In barren uplands, density can be as a low as one family per 10 km2 (IUCN, 2008). In Central Victoria (Australia), the average fox abundance is 4 foxes per km2 on farmland (DEPI).

Is 1080 native to Australia. YES.

Yes. Fluoroacetate, the active ingredient of 1080, occurs naturally in several toxic plants in Australia, South Africa, and South America. At least 40 such species occur in Australia, with most confined to the south-west of Western Australia. All of these species are legumes but most are from the genus Gastrolobium, with one Acacia, and two species of Nemcia. Some of the Gastrolobiums can produce considerable amounts of 1080 (e.g. G. bilobum, G. parviflorum; >2500 mg per kg dry weight of leaves). Fluoroacetate also occurs at very low concentrations in tea leaves, and guar gum, a common constituent of a variety of foodstuffs. 

One source of 1080 is Prickly Poison (Gastrolobium spinosum) is native to Western Australia

1080 is water-soluble and is readily broken down by naturally occurring bacteria and fungi. It therefore does not cause a build-up of toxic residues in soil, water or plants, nor does it bioaccumulate in organisms(The State of Queensland, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 2014).

What if another species eats a 1080 bait?

There is a small chance that other species will eat the bait before a fox finds it. To decrease the chance that this happens, baits are buried at certain depths. The poison in baits, sodium fluoracetate or 1080, is found in Australian plants. Therefore, native species have a higher tolerance to 1080, especially on the west coast where plants with 1080 are more abundant. Most baits contain 3 mg 1080, which is highly lethal to an adult fox but usually not to native species.

Lethal dose of 1080 for different native and introduced species. 1080 is not cumulative. And a human would have to eat 40 to 80 baits depending on there weight (Animal Control Technologies Australia).

Here are some interesting examples of calculations detailing the risks to humans and wildlife:

• One of the risks of 1080 use is the leaching of the 1080 from the impregnated baits due to rainfall. If an area were heavily poisoned using 8 kg of 6 mg wild dog baits per hectare (containing 48 mg of 1080 per kg of bait), and all of this was leached out due to 50 mm of rain, an individual person would need to drink 169 271 L of contaminated water before receiving a lethal dose.

• If a hunter shot a 60 kg feral pig that was in the latent period following ingestion of 3 kg of 1080 bait (at a rate of 1152 mg 1080/kg), and based on the unlikely assumption that half the ingested poison has become evenly distributed through the carcass, that hunter would need to eat 36.1 kg in one sitting before being at risk (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Biosecurity Queensland).

The science behind the claim – 1080 is no threat to native wildlife populations.

There have been many scientific studies which have considered the risks of 1080 poison on native wildlife populations, including 29 species of native birds, 7 species of native reptiles and amphibians and 44 species of native mammals (including carnivorous marsupials). All these studies have found that there is NO THREAT from 1080 poison to populations of these wildlife species.

In fact, the study by Kortner in 2007 found that some quolls were eating the 1080 baits designed for wild dogs and not dying. One female quoll, which was trapped and released, had evidence of eating six wild dog baits with no impact on her health.

Based on this finding and others, in 2008, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority Final Review Report and Regulatory Decision of Sodium Fluoroacetate concluded that although individual poisoning of non-target animals can occur, this does not adversely affect the overall population of the non-target wildlife – while still highly regulated, they allowed 1080 to continue to be used as a management tool for invasive species (and predator) control.

Below are 12 key studies (in alphabetical order, since 2000) which conclude that 1080 baiting for invasive predator control has not impacted on the native wildlife populations in the region where baiting was undertaken.

• Allen B. L., Allen L. R., Engeman R. M., Leung L. K.-P. (2013) Intraguild relationships between sympatric predators exposed to lethal control: predator manipulation experiments. Frontiers in Zoology 10, 39.

This study showcases that 1080 had no impact on goanna populations

• Allen B. L., Allen L. R., Engeman R. M., Leung L. K.-P. (2014) Sympatric prey responses to lethal top-predator control: predator manipulation experiments. Frontiers in Zoology 11, 56.

This study suggests prey populations are not negatively affected by wild dog control practices. These include ground dwelling birds, hopping mice, reptiles, frogs macropods.

• Claridge Andrew W., Murray Andy J., Dawson James, Poore Rob, Mifsud Greg, Saxon Michael J. (2006) The propensity of spotted-tailed quolls (Dasyurus maculatus) to encounter and consume non-toxic meat baits in a simulated canid-control program. Wildlife Research 33, 85-91. 
• Claridge Andrew W., Mills Douglas J. (2007) Aerial baiting for wild dogs has no observable impact on spotted-tailed quolls (Dasyurus maculatus) in a rainshadow woodland. Wildlife Research 34, 116-124.

These studies noted no impact on native quoll populations in the region.

• Claridge A. W., Cunningham R. B., Catling P. C., Reid A. M. (2010) Trends in the activity levels of forest-dwelling vertebrate fauna against a background of intensive baiting for foxes. Forest Ecology and Management 260, 5, 822-832.

This study found that bandicoots, brushtail possums and lyrebirds increased in activity against a background of diminishing fox activity, due to 1080 baiting.

• Dexter N., Murray A. (2009) The impact of fox control on the relative abundance of forest mammals in East Gippsland, Victoria. Wildlife Research 36, 252-261.

This study found that long-nosed potoroos, southern brown bandicoots, common brushtail possums and ringtail possums all increased due to 1080 baiting of foxes in region.

• Eldridge S. R. , Berman D. M. Walsh B. (2000) Field evaluation of four 1080 baits for dingo control. Wildlife Research 27, 495-500.

This study noted no effects seen on native birds, goannas and kangaroos and suggests that the consumption of two NT meat baits (weighing approximately 500 g each) by a black kite (weighing on average just under 600 g) would be a physical impossibility as the birds would need to consume 82% of their body mass. Similarly, the consumption of five of these baits by a wedge-tailed eagle would be highly unlikely.

• Fenner S., Körtner G., Vernes K. (2009) Aerial baiting with 1080 to control wild dogs does not affect the populations of two common small mammal species. Wildlife Research 36, 6, 528-532.

This study found that southern bush rats (Rattus fuscipes assimilis) and brown antechinus (Antechinus stuartii) were not significantly impacted by aerial baiting in Northern NSW.

• Gentle M., Speed J., Pople A. (2014) Impacts on nontarget avian species from aerial meat baiting for feral pigs. Ecological Management & Restoration 15, 3, 222-230.

This study found no impacts on populations of Australian Magpie, Brown Falcon (Falco berigora), Australian Kestrel (Falco cenchroides), Wedge-tailed Eagle, Pied Butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis), Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus), Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides), Little Raven (Corvus mellori) and Torresian Crow (Corvus orru) from aerial baiting with 1080 meat baits for feral pig control.

• Kinnear J. E., Krebs C. J., Pentland C., Orell P., Holme C., Karvinen R. (2010) Predator-baiting experiments for the conservation of rock-wallabies in Western Australia: A 25-year review with recent advances. Wildlife Research 37, 57-67.

This study found that rock wallaby populations recovered due to 1080 baiting of foxes in WA. They were declared an endangered species prior to this baiting program being implemented.

• Kortner G. (2007) 1080 aerial baiting for the control of wild dogs and its impact on spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) populations in eastern Australia. Wildlife Research 34, 1, 48-53.

This study noted no impact on native quoll populations in the region.

• Robley A., Gormley A. M., Forsyth D. M., Triggs B. (2014) Long-term and large-scale control of the introduced red fox increases native mammal occupancy in Australian forests.Biological Conservation 180, 262-269.

This study demonstrated that foxes can be reduced to, and maintained at, low abundances and that this has a generally positive effect on the occupancy by small native mammalian prey species – common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) and southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus).

Pestsmart:https://pestsmart.org.au/science-behind-claim-1080-no-threat-native-wildlife-populations/

References

Bengsen 2014, Effects of coordinated poison-baiting programs on survival and abundance in two red fox populations, Wildlife Research, 41, 194-202

Bob Irwin and Amanda French 2016, The Last Crocodile Hunter A Father and Son Legacy, Allen & Unwin Crows Nest NSW Australia, 208-209

Carter et al. (2012) Fox-baiting in agricultural landscapes in south-eastern Australia: a case-study appraisal and suggestions for improvement, Ecological Managament & Restoration, 12:3, 214-223

Claridge et al. (2010), Trends in the activity levels of forest-dwelling vertebrate fauna against a background of intensive baiting for foxes, Forest Ecology and Management, 260, 822-832

DAFWA on fox baiting: www.agric.wa.gov.au/1080/fox-baiting

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Biosecurity Queensland, DAFF, (2014) Fact Sheet, PEST ANIMAL CONTROL, July 2014, Sodium flouroacetate (1080).

DEPI on Red Fox: www.depi.vic.gov.au/agriculture-and-food/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-animals/a-z-of-pest-animals/red-fox

IUCN 2008 on Vulpes vulpes: www.iucnredlist.org/details/23062/0 

NSW Environment & Heritage 2016 http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/animals/Bandicoots.htm#.Vp2L619lu8E.mailto

Petel et al. (2001), Bait palatability influences the caching behaviour of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), Wildlife Research, 2001, 28, 395–401

Several governmental information sheets on fox control (FoxFact , SA; European red fox, QLD; 1080 – Characteristics and use, WA).

Thompson and Fleming (1994) Evaluation of the Efficacy of 1080 Poisoning of Red Foxes using Visitation to Non-toxic Baits as an Index of Fox Abundance, Wildlife Research 21, 27-39

Thomson et al. (2000). The effectiveness of a large-scale baiting campaign and an evaluation of a buffer zone strategy for fox control. Wildlife Research 27, 465–472

Unpopular Science (2016). Making a Killing: Which is the Most Humane Method of Execution? https://www.unpopularscience.co.uk/making-a-killing-which-is-the-most-humane-method-of-execution/