Leanne Wheaton wrote:
>
> I support David Geering?s comments re the hysteria regarding 1080.
>
>
>
> 1080 is our greatest weapon against foxes.
>
>
>
> Without its current impact on the fox population, all our ground
> dwelling birds, some reptiles, tortoises etc would be extinct in a
> matter of years.
>
>
>
> Yes it may have been used without due care in the past, but that is a
> reason for better education, and not the banning of the substance.
>
>
>
> There are approx 2.5 million foxes in Victoria. The fox bounty
> removed 170000, most of them juveniles. All will be repopulated in
> this current breeding season.
>
>
>
> A fox needs 350g of food a night to survive, only 20% comes from
> lambs/chooks etc.
>
>
>
> At 280g per night x 365 days per years this is 102kg of wildlife
> consumed per individual fox per year.. That?s the entire curlew
> population in Victoria eaten by one fox.
>
>
>
> So it doesn?t take much to work out the total weight of wildlife
> consumed by fox population in one state.
>
>
>
> So don?t create unnecessary hysteria. 1080 is our best weapon, let?s
> encourage its proper use.
>
>
>
> Leanne Wheaton
>
----------------------
I am fully in support of fox control - or even extermination on this
continent and its islands - and have no quarrel with the careful and
skilled use of 1080.
But I remember the comment by a farmer's wife near Mt.Arapiles circa
1951.
"We've got an absolutely wonderful new rabbit poison called 1080. The
great thing is that it kills all the hawks and eagles and foxes and wild
dogs as well!"
In those days every country road in the Western District and Wimmera had
long strings of crucified Wedgetails strung up along the fences. It
showed what a good farmer you were.
Thank heavens attitudes have changed somewhat.
Anthea Fleming
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
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