Local high concentration of Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) observed during lambing in northern New South Wales, Australia

Deane A. Smith; Thomas Coldham; Paul D. Meek

doi:10.1071/AM25013

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Local high concentration of Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) observed during lambing in northern New South Wales, Australia

Deane A. Smith ^A ^B ^* , Thomas Coldham ^C and Paul D. Meek ^B ^D

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.

^B School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.

^C Wycliffe Station, Emmaville, NSW 2371, Australia.

^D Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: deane.smith@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Handling Editor: Stuart Cairns

Australian Mammalogy 47, AM25013 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM25013

Submitted: 16 April 2025 Accepted: 9 July 2025 Published: 18 July 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Mammal Society. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

A local high concentration of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) was observed over a single night in response to a lambing event in northern New South Wales (NSW), Australia. A total of 21 foxes were shot over 1 h within a 1.4 km² area, highlighting the strong attractant effect of lambing on local fox populations. Additionally, the control effort resulted in the removal of 11 more foxes over the following 5 days. These observations provide insight into the local abundance and scavenging behaviour of foxes, with potential implications for livestock management, predator control strategies and local ecology.

Keywords: fox control, lambing event, livestock predation, pest management, predator aggregation, predator ecology, red fox, scavenging.

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