This week's PhotoHunt theme is hanging.
It is not uncommon to see dead foxes hanging on fences in Australia. According to thefoxwebsite "This is a throwback to Victorian times, when gamekeepers hung the animals they killed on a gibbet to show their employers how well they were doing their job. It is also sometimes done to show neighbours how they treat any fox that appears on their land."
Foxes were first introduced in Australia in 1855 for recreational hunting purposes. By the early 1870's they were established in the wild. Within 100 years the introduced species had spread across almost all of the continent, and today there are one of the most widely spread feral animals in Australia.
Foxes cause environmental damage, by preying on many species of native wildlife Animals that are endangered due to the fox include the rock-wallaby, numbat, bettong and bilby. Farmers also link serious economic damage to foxes, though the significance of foxes as predators of livestock is subject to debate. There is also the fear that should rabies be introduced into Australia (we are currently rabies free) foxes could contact and spread the disease.
The Australian government uses fencing, trapping, baiting and shooting in attempt to control the growth and spread of the fox population.
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Hi Maya, I didn't realize that the fox can create such problems. Hope things improve there for the farmers and for the endangered animals.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
Interesting - Thanks for the background on the fox in Oz. At first, I thought it was a little cruel but they are definitely a pest and non-native.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the background info - now I know why they are hang on fences like the one in picture.
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend, Maya.
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Really I also thought why they are hanged liked that...thanks for the background info...
ReplyDeleteI knew about the rabbits that were imported and had no natural predators in Australia. So now the foxes are a problem too. Do they go for rabbits?
ReplyDeleteMoving animals and plants to new domains is a dangerous thing. In the southern US the kudzu vine is taking over the world. Came from China. Mmm ... is this an omen?
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Thanks everyone for the comments. I know the picture may not be the nicest, but it brings up the problem of feral animals in Australia. When I first saw foxes hanging on a fence I couldn't believe it and had to research why. I never used to mind running into a fox on the trail in Europe or the US, but I hate seeing them here. Unfortunately, when we see the animal, its prints, or--scat we also come across a lot of native animal bones.
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