Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018C00161:reg:1:p3
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018C00161
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 1 (pt 3/4)
Character Range: 9555–12523

designing and recommending pest animal control programs. In many situations, concurrent multi-species programs will be required. Integrating control techniques will maximise the success of control programs.

Continental eradication may be the ideal goal of a fox TAP, but is not feasible with current resources and techniques. Fox populations must therefore be suppressed and managed to mitigate impacts on affected native species. Progress in control programs must be monitored to ensure that objectives are met and to allow management options to be adapted to changing circumstances. Individual identification of foxes by scat genotyping has potential for monitoring abundance before and after control programs (Piggott and Taylor 2003). In addition, population genetic analysis may offer insights into invasion routes and population dynamics. The necessary background genetic database enabling data interpretation is being developed by the Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre.

1.2.4  The review of the 1999 TAP

In accordance with the requirements of the EPBC Act, the original TAP for foxes (EA 1999a) was reviewed in 2004–05 by the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) (Hart 2005) as part of a broader review encompassing the original TAPs for cats (EA 1999b), goats (EA 1999c) and rabbits (EA 1999d). Anecdotal, circumstantial and experimental evidence shows that fox predation continues to be a major threat to the survival of native Australian fauna. The review identified a number of the actions that have been implemented by state agencies; for example, New South Wales with its own TAP has undertaken local regional fox control to benefit threatened species.

The BRS review found that it was difficult to accurately determine the extent to which the TAP had reduced the impacts of foxes on biodiversity. This reflects the current paucity of nationally consistent data on the ranges and densities of foxes and their impacts, and the difficulties of linking outcomes in population changes to the outputs of the fox TAP. The invasive species indicator data to be produced under the National Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (NRMMC 2003) should improve the availability of continental overview data over the next year or so.

The BRS surveyed a broad range of stakeholders and assessed a range of projects commissioned by the Department of Environment and Heritage (now the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts) that were developed under the auspices of the existing TAPs. This has helped to identify actions that will need to be initiated or continued into the future. The review concluded, however, that the fox-related projects that were assessed had positively contributed to reducing the impacts of foxes. Furthermore, projects have addressed specific pest control needs in high-priority locations, toxin development and biocontrol agents, and have provided considerable support for developing control techniques. Of the 27