Originally Posted by
POD
I'm posting this question on Aulro because I know there are a lot of people here with broad experience in such matters who might be able to offer some solutions. Here's my situation:
I live on a rural property that is one of a row of 4-acre blocks carved off surrounding farmland about 40-50 years ago. I'm in about the middle of a row of such blocks. Behind my property is farmland but I don't share a boundary at the back; there's a disused road reserve that is pretty much scrub with a track against my back fence that I keep slashed for fire access, as do the neighbours either side.
Directly behind me, over this 'lane', there's a paddock of about 50 acres that is an absolute mess, storms about 20 years ago took down a lot of gum trees in that paddock and it has basically been left with fallen trees and uprooted stumps for all that time. That property is owned by a couple who are now probably in their 80s, had a successful local business and kept it as a 'hobby farm' until maybe 15 years ago when they began leasing it to local farmers who intermittently graze beef cattle in it. I have no real 'neighbour' relationship with this couple, their house fronts a different road at the other side of their property and as described above, we don't even share a back boundary.
We are being plagued by foxes that I believe are living and breeding in the unkempt block behind us. We have chooks that we like to allow to free range in the afternoons, but we're now having to keep them confined to the chook shed after losing more than one per day to foxes that I have observed- and tracked- making their way up into the block behind us. There's fox scat all over our place, including right up around the house. The other night I went outside at about 10pm to find three foxes skulking around my house.
I have a bit of a quandary in how to deal with these mongrel things. The property is too close to neighbours to really be shooting a rifle powerful enough to kill them (I bought a high-powered air rifle last spring to deal with an exploding rabbit population; I lay in wait and shot a fox in the face with it as he came through the fence a couple of nights ago; bugger flinched and ran off). Under Vic firearm law I would need approval from 2 neighbours each side (residences within 250 meters) to be at them with a shotgun; I'm not confident that they would all be on board.
I'm wanting to approach the property owner at the back with a request to do something about the fox sanctuary he is operating, but I want to be able to approach him with some suggestions that are viable, economical and likely to be effective. One thought is to suggest laying some 'canid pest ejector' baits in his block (can't do this in the 'lane' as neighbours walk their dogs) but these are not cheap. I'm hoping some of you blokes with knowledge and experience might be able to suggest some solutions that I can then suggest to the neighbour.
