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1 February 2011 A Preliminary Study Assessing Risk to Tasmanian Devils from Poisoning for Red Foxes
Channing Hughes, Robbie Gaffney, Christopher R. Dickman
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Abstract

The recent introduction of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to Australia's island state of Tasmania represents a major threat to native fauna. In response, the Tasmanian government has begun a fox eradication program using Foxoff®, a bait containing the poison sodium monofluoroacetate (commonly known as 1080). The bait is potentially attractive to native Tasmanian carnivores as well as to foxes. Of particular concern is the endangered Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), which is already at risk from an emergent infectious disease, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). In both a captive and a field study using non-toxic Foxoff bait, we assessed bait palatability and possible effects of demographics, hunger level, bait age, and bait burial method on the likelihood of bait uptake by Tasmanian devils. Captive devils showed varying interest in the bait, but wild devils appeared to find it uniformly palatable. In the captive study, males and younger, captive-born animals were more likely to excavate and remove bait. Subterranean burial at 15 cm was the most effective deterrent to bait excavation; effectiveness decreased at shallower depths and with surface-level bait buried beneath soil mounds. Our findings suggest that the current fox-baiting campaign may negatively impact individual devils. More extensive study is necessary to assess potential risk at the population level.

© 2011 The Wildlife Society.
Channing Hughes, Robbie Gaffney, and Christopher R. Dickman "A Preliminary Study Assessing Risk to Tasmanian Devils from Poisoning for Red Foxes," Journal of Wildlife Management 75(2), 385-392, (1 February 2011). https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.47
Received: 18 November 2009; Accepted: 1 April 2010; Published: 1 February 2011
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KEYWORDS
bait palatability
Bait uptake
poisoning
red fox
remote photography
Sarcophilus harrisii
sodium monofluoroacetate (1080)
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