WA farmers are being urged to ramp up their commitment to the 'Red Card to Rabbits and Foxes' (RCRF) program.
"A dry spring presents a prime opportunity to bait foxes while foxes scavenge for food to raise cubs," RCRF co-ordinator Sally Thomson said. "The spring program will complement more than 22,000 fox baits that were laid throughout 500 farming properties during March and April this year as part of the RCRF drive to protect agricultural and bio-diversity assets.
"The single most influential factor regarding effective pest control is still the ability of the community to take a co-ordinated approach, so that widespread baiting occurs at the same time.
"The advantage of spring baiting is that the foxes remain close to the den until October-November, so landholders can hone in on their baiting sites compared to autumn baiting when these pests are highly mobile."
Fox cubs are typically born in August-September and are generally weaned at six to eight weeks of age, when they regularly surface from the den and begin to source their own food.
They generally abandon the dens around 10 weeks of age and remain in a juvenile social group until they seek their own territory at around five months of age.
Their lack of experience makes them highly vulnerable to human control efforts such as 1080 baiting during this time.
"Despite the Agriculture and Food Department bait factory closing its doors after many years of operation, a number of certified commercial soft-bait products are available to landowners," Ms Thomson said.
Landowners gain accreditation to lay 1080 baits on their properties through a simple free application process that provides information and training to ensure safe use and handling of the poison.
Bio-security officers located at the Agriculture and Food Department district offices continue to deliver this role. Accreditation generally requires correct answering of open-book multi-choice questions and remains valid for five years.
Once accredited, farmers simply send their completed one-page application form together with a farm map to their district office for processing.
Authorisation vouchers are then issued, which the landholder takes to a regular ag-supply shop to purchase baits.
Rabbit baiting is most effective during summer and autumn when feed supply is low and populations are consolidating.
Planning for the RCRF autumn program is underway, involving coordinated baiting and shooting campaigns to control fox and rabbit populations across the agricultural region to protect agricultural and biodiversity assets.
Local organisations and landholders should contact Sally Thomson on 0417 983 356 or sowingseeds@bigpond.com to get involved in the program.
