In response to the Society’s letter to City of Sydney about the problem of foxes in Glebe, we received a response dated 18 October, from David Riordan, Director of City Services.

The City of Sydney will raise the problem of foxes in Glebe with the Pest Animal Action Committee, which covers the southern region of Sydney. The Director of City Services with City of Sydney, David Riordan, said they would ‘see if there are any future activities that we can be involved in to control the fox population’.

Mr Riordan was replying to a request from the Glebe Society to control the fox population in Glebe. The matter was initially raised by John and Jenny Sergeant, whose two pet hens, Lottie and Duchess, were killed in a manner consistent with fox predation. The Glebe Society also provided a photo of a fox walking down Leichhardt St, Glebe, along with records of other sightings.

Mr Riordan said the City of Sydney joined with 14 other councils in 2016 to develop ‘a regional and coordinated approach to fox management in south Sydney. Staff studied the behaviour of urban foxes and mapped where they had been found, which allowed some councils to run control programs at strategic locations.’

More than 150 foxes were removed from southern Sydney as a result of the program.

Mr Riordan asked people to record any fox sightings in Glebe and surrounding suburbs on FoxScan at https://www.feralscan.org.au/foxscan/default.aspx.

He said this would help the City understand the movement and number of foxes in Glebe.

Image: https://www.feralscan.org.au/foxscan/default.aspx)

Concern from Councillor Kerryn Phelps

I received this email from Jacqui Monro on 2 November. – Editor

On behalf of Councillor Phelps, thank you for the ongoing updates about the Glebe area through the monthly Bulletin – it is always an interesting read and very informative!

From a previous edition which raised concerns about a fox killing local pets and wildlife in the area, Councillor Phelps followed up with the Director of City Services to ask what could be done to address this problem.

Councillor Phelps received the following response:

The European red fox poses a threat to native animals, however controlling their numbers is very difficult in a densely populated areas such as the City of Sydney.

Options such as baiting are not considered feasible due to the large number of domestics pets in the local government area.

Foxes are more likely to be scavenging on rubbish or prey on rodents, given these are more abundant than indigenous species on which they could potentially feed.

[The letter goes on to recommend that any sightings be reported to FoxScan.]

Jacqui Munro
Office of Councillor Dr Kerryn Phelps AM