Saviours of the Lambs
By Neil Schultz
European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were introduced in Australia via nine recorded shipments arriving between 1845 and 1879. Those initial animals were released in Victoria around Geelong and further north near Ballarat. Even before the latter imports, foxes were in great numbers in the wild around the greater Melbourne area. By 1905 they had made their way west into South Australia and just two years later were recorded as far north as southern Queensland. By the 1930s foxes had populated around 80 per cent of mainland Australia, a range they still occupy today.
It is pure chance that the area most suited to supporting dense fox populations is also where the majority of our sheep grazing occurs. That unhappy coincidence has foxes preying upon newborn lambs wherever the two converge.
Lamb mortality rates due to fox predation range from 5.3 per cent to a recorded high of 32 per cent in South West Queensland from 1976-85 (Jordan et al. 1989). An estimated national average of around 7 per cent would equate to one in every 14 lambs born each year taken by foxes. With current fat lamb prices at record highs, that is a significant portion of the graziers’ profit margin vanishing.
Thinning fox numbers prior to lambing has become a necessary part of farm management. Baiting with 1080 is the most widespread method of fox control but poses risks to domestic dogs and may result in secondary poisoning of native scavengers, but the jury is still out on that. Trapping is a very specialised method that is time consuming and not overly effective on older, wiser foxes. This method definitely has detrimental effects on native animals, with goannas, quolls and possums particularly susceptible. Shooting is the only 100 per cent species-specific method of control. Scores of contract shooters make a fulltime living from the occupation. Commercial shooting, however, adds another expense to the farmers’ outgoing finances. Recreational shooters take on the task of filling the gap between baiting, trapping and commercial shooting at no cost to the grazier.
Whistling
Calling foxes into shooting range during daylight hours is undoubtedly the most satisfying and visually exciting method of fox hunting. Most effective in areas where rabbits are present in reasonable numbers, it can also be frustrating. Whistles range from the old familiar metal button style, through to a plethora of metal, plastic and rubber mouth callers all designed to replicate the distress sounds of a small animal.
‘Tenterfield’ style whistles have been popular for decades, consisting of a folded metal plate with two holes. These can take some practice to produce the desired sound (or any sound). High-tech electronic callers are available with the ability to switch between a library of different animal and bird sounds. Spring and early summer are generally accepted as the best times of year for bringing foxes to the whistle.
Shooters set up with cover behind them to disguise their outline while not obscuring their view. A spot with a little elevation is ideal to give a good range of visibility. Hillsides in grazing country overlooking bushy gullies, log piles and blackberry thickets can be quite productive. Whistling in ten-second bursts, with a minute between, is enough to grab a fox’s attention. About 15 or 20 minutes in each location is all that is needed to bring any resident foxes into the open.
Spotlighting
Shooting foxes at night with the aid of a spotlight has been the mainstay of farmers and hunters for the past 75 years. Lights are usually vehicle mounted or handheld while in a vehicle. The method involves driving around paddocks looking for the telltale eye-shine of the target species. Foxes’ eyes reflect yellow to golden light, depending on the individual’s age. Most herbivores, sheep, cattle, deer, etc, give off a blue or white eye-shine, making quick ID possible. Small calibre centre fire rifles excel for spotlighting. From the ‘50s, the .222 was the centre-fire cartridge of choice for fox shooters around the globe prior to the widespread availability of the .223 Remington. The .223 is now the most popular centre-fire cartridge in the western world and very widely used for spotlighting foxes here in Australia. Quartz-halogen (QH) spotlights are preferred, as the warmer light they produce is less harsh than LED or HID. Foxes are less likely to spook from QH for that reason. Even when using a QH light it is advisable to shine the beam to the side of a fox, lighting it with the edge of the visible beam while lining up for the shot. If you need more light for a clear view of the crosshairs, move the spot onto the fox when you are ready to take the shot.
Thermal – game changing
Thermal imaging equipment has become more commonly used by nocturnal hunters during the past decade. Dedicated thermal riflescopes are no longer prohibitively expensive, putting them within reach of everyday ‘mum and dad’ recreational shooters and farmers. The advantages of locating and shooting foxes in complete darkness are momentous. Unlike spotlighting, the fox is completely unaware of the hunter’s presence and can often be approached to within close range. Shooters can observe the fox moving about and wait for that unhurried, perfect shot to be presented. We’ll often use a whistle while thermal hunting, just to get a fox to stop and look to allow a stationary shot. Just like spotlighting, vehicle-borne hunters patrol paddocks looking for their quarry. The range at which foxes can be detected in open fields is considerable, in excess of half a kilometre with mid-priced thermal gear. Positively identifying them at that distance can be challenging, but moving closer undetected is usually easy. One of my favourite nocturnal hunting strategies is to sit at a dam and wait for feral beasties to come to me. Foxes regularly visit dams, not just to drink but to hunt small animals that do come for water. They also patrol looking for wild ducklings, turtles and frogs. A conservative estimate of my shooting team’s increase in fox tallies with the use of thermal over spotlight would be 100 per cent (probably closer to 200).
Which rifle?
Whatever rifle is in hand, is a good fox gun. Here the .44 Magnum took down a fox flushed from cover while looking for pigs.
As previously mentioned, the .223 is the most commonly used centre-fire cartridge for fox shooting here in Australia. Loaded with projectiles as light as 30gr right through to 80gr, the .223 is a very versatile cartridge. Most shooters use a 55gr bullet and I follow that habit. I hand-load with Australian-made Rexem 55gr ‘R-Bomb’ projectiles that provide target accuracy with devastating terminal performance on foxes. At the small end of the scale, the very popular .22LR rimfire is a great close range fox rifle and practically every rural farmhouse has one in the safe. Small calibre hot-rods are ideal for foxes, with the 17HMR a great performer. Less common is the .204 Ruger cartridge, a brilliantly flat shooting and inherently accurate round. The venerable .22-250 is also fast and flat shooting and perfect for reaching out to longer ranges for foxes. Running a 50-grain projectile at 3,800fps makes this cartridge a fox’s nightmare. Some of the newer .224 calibre cartridges are perfect fox medicine. I currently have a favourite rifle being re-barrelled in .22GT for foxes and pigs, but that’s a story for another day.
Make a difference
Red tape addicts and bureaucrats often state that recreational hunting is ineffective in fox control. They quote statistics that even with bounties, shooters don’t take a great enough percentage of the population to affect a long-term decrease in their numbers. (What is that old saying about lies, damn lies and statistics?) Logic would indicate that every fox taken out of the environment by recreational shooters is one less out there killing lambs and native wildlife for the duration of its lifetime. One less in the breeding population has knock-on effects, too. How many cubs does a vixen produce each year? Do your local poultry and lamb farmer and your region’s wildlife a favour and take down those foxes.