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Across the Hawkesbury winter has settled and a quiet crisis is unfolding each night as foxes silently stalk paddocks, creeks, and bushland during our long nights— with often devastating consequences for native wildlife.
Introduced to Australia in the 1800s for recreational hunting, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) has spread widely and become one of the country’s most damaging predators. In regions like the Hawkesbury — where rural properties, bushland and growing urban fringes intersect — foxes are thriving. But our native animals are not.
"People might see a fox and think it's just part of the scenery,” said local environmental scientist Tom XXX from Hooked on Nature, “but they don’t see what happens to bandicoots, quolls or curlews.”
The Australian government lists foxes as a major threat to biodiversity. They are implicated in the decline and extinction of over 30 native mammal species. In the Hawkesbury, the danger is particularly acute for ground-nesting birds, small marsupials, and reptiles — many of which are already battling habitat loss from development, fires and floods.
Foxes are highly adaptive. They scavenge, hunt efficiently, and are active mostly at night. They thrive around farms, bins, and roadsides — and their growing numbers are making life even harder for local wildlife.
Farmers are also impacted, particularly small-scale poultry producers. Yet controlling fox populations is a complex task that requires coordinated efforts between government agencies, private landholders and the broader community.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with local councils, runs targeted baiting and control programs. These include the use of 1080 poison baits, den fumigation and community education. But experts say awareness is still too low.
“There’s a lot more we can do locally,” says one former NPWS ranger. “From locking up chickens at night to reducing food scraps and reporting sightings — every bit helps.”
The message from ecologists is clear: foxes aren’t just a nuisance — they’re a critical threat to the future of Australia’s native fauna. Without greater awareness and more effective management, many of our much-loved native species may quietly vanish.
If you’ve seen foxes or would like to be involved in local conservation efforts, contact the Richmond NPWS office on (02) 4588 2400 or visit Fox Control Website
