Evaluation of attractants and bait preferences of captive red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen Saunders ◽  
Stephen Harris
Keyword(s):  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Chemical Attractants ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Fox Control ◽  
Rabies Vaccination

The development of bait types, additives such as synthetic flavours, and attractants for use in fox control and rabies vaccination programmes is briefly reviewed. A captive colony was used to establish bait preferences for foxes. A variety of bait types and additives were screened for this purpose. The potential of chemical attractants to enhance the discovery of baits by foxes was also examined. Gustatory additives, such as beef flavour and sugar, enhanced bait acceptance, and olfactory attractants such as synthetic fermented egg showed promise. Trials using captive animals allow for observations impossible under field conditions. However, field trials are also needed to determine whether behavioural responses of free-ranging animals are similar to those observed in captive individuals.

Stability of cabergoline in fox baits in laboratory and field conditions

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart McLean ◽  
Susan Brandon ◽  
Roger Kirkwood
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Acetic Acid Solution ◽  
Hydrolysis Product ◽  
Fertility Control ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Fox Control

Cabergoline is a potent inhibitor of prolactin release and a potential fertility control agent for foxes. To understand how cabergoline could behave in baits deployed for fox control, we conducted laboratory and field trials to investigate the stability of cabergoline when (1) in solution, (2) injected into a bait (deep-fried liver and Foxoff®) and (3) exposed to a range of environmental conditions, including burial. Cabergoline, dissolved in a 1% acetic acid solution, and its carboxylic acid hydrolysis product can be assayed using high-performance liquid chromatography. When stored at 4°C and at room temperature, cabergoline in solution was stable for up to 36 days. When stored under cool (≤15°C), dry conditions, cabergoline (800 µg) in commercial Foxoff® and deep-fried ox-liver baits was stable for 28 and 7 days, respectively; stability was reduced by increases in temperature (tested up to 40°C) and humidity. Recovery of cabergoline from buried baits exposed to a range of field conditions decreased rapidly in the first week, but after 56 days remained detectable at levels of 6–22% of the injected amounts. This study has important implications for baiting campaigns that use cabergoline for fox control.

The fate of dried meat baits laid for fox control: the effects of bait presentation on take by foxes and non-target species, and on caching by foxes

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 371 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Thomson ◽  
N. E. Kok
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
Lower Proportion ◽  
Potential Hazard ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Mixed Farming ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Fox Control

Non-toxic, dried meat baits (45 g) containing small radio-transmitters were laid on cleared sandplots in mixed farming and grain-growing areas in Western Australia. Baits were either buried, tethered by wire trace to a hidden peg, or simply laid untethered on the surface. Baits were exposed for 1 night only and new transects were established each day. Data were available on 1521 baits. Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) visited 23% of plots and took baits from 64% of those visited. Unburied baits (both tethered and untethered) were taken significantly more frequently than the buried baits. Of all baits taken by foxes, 25% were cached. Foxes were more likely to cache buried baits than either tethered or untethered baits. Excluding baits taken to cubs, foxes cached baits 3–380 m (mean 87�m) from their original locations. Some baits were carried to cub dens up to 1.25�km away. The fate of 27�cached baits was monitored for varying periods. Of these baits, 59% were later eaten by foxes, most within 3�days. Non-target species took 3% of the baits on offer. Birds were the most common non-target animals to take baits, and in some cases dropped baits up to 400 m away. In terms of takes relative to visits, most takes by birds were of the untethered baits (88%, cf. 33% for tethered, 17% for buried baits). Compared with other baits, a significantly lower proportion of the untethered baits that were taken by birds was actually eaten. Baits cached by foxes and baits moved by birds represent a potential hazard to farm dogs and vulnerable fauna. Recommendations on bait presentation, distance restrictions, and likely risk to farm dogs and non-target species are discussed.

scholarly journals Survey on viral pathogens in wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Germany with emphasis on parvoviruses and analysis of a DNA sequence from a red fox parvovirus

1998 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. TRUYEN ◽  
T. MÜLLER ◽  
R. HEIDRICH ◽  
K. TACKMANN ◽  
L. E. CARMICHAEL
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequence ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
Red Fox ◽  
Canine Parvovirus ◽  
Domestic Dog ◽  
Interspecies Transmission ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Feline Panleukopenia Virus ◽  
Free Ranging

The seroprevalence of canine parvovirus (CPV), canine distemper virus (CDV), canine adenovirus (CAV) and canine herpesvirus (CHV) infections in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) was determined in fox sera collected between 1991 and 1995. A total of 500 sera were selected and the seroprevalences were estimated to be 13% (65 of 500 sera) for CPV, 4·4% (17 of 383 sera) for CDV, 3·5% (17 of 485 sera) for CAV, and 0·4% (2 of 485 sera) for CHV, respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two (rural and suburban) areas under study.Parvovirus DNA sequences were amplified from tissues of free-ranging foxes and compared to those of prototype viruses from dogs and cats. We report here a parvovirus sequence indicative of a true intermediate between the feline panleukopenia virus-like viruses and the canine parvovirus-like viruses. The red fox parvoviral sequence, therefore, appears to represent a link between those viral groups. The DNA sequence together with a significant seroprevalence of parvovirus infections in foxes supports the hypothesis that the sudden emergence of canine parvovirus in the domestic dog population may have involved the interspecies transmission between wild and domestic carnivores.

NEOSPORA CANINUM–LIKE OOCYSTS OBSERVED IN FECES OF FREE-RANGING RED FOXES (VULPES VULPES) AND COYOTES (CANIS LATRANS)

2006 ◽  
Vol 92 (6) ◽  
pp. 1270-1274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendela Wapenaar ◽  
Mark C. Jenkins ◽  
Ryan M. O'Handley ◽  
Herman W. Barkema
Keyword(s):  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
Canis Latrans ◽  
Neospora Caninum ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Detection of Leishmania infantum DNA in tissues of free-ranging red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Central Italy

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranieri Verin ◽  
Alessandro Poli ◽  
Gaetano Ariti ◽  
Simona Nardoni ◽  
Martina Bertuccelli Fanucchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leishmania Infantum ◽  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Free Ranging

The effectiveness of a large-scale baiting campaign and an evaluation of a buffer zone strategy for fox control

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Thomson ◽  
N. J. Marlow ◽  
K. Rose ◽  
N. E. Kok
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Population Reduction ◽  
High Level ◽  
Fox Control

The effectiveness of a baiting campaign against red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) was investigated in a rangeland area near Carnarvon, Western Australia. An area of 3180 km2 was aerially baited with dried meat baits containing 3 mg 1080 poison (5 baits km–2) in August 1995. All 45 radio-collared foxes monitored in the area were killed by baits. More than half the radio-collared foxes died within 3 days of baits being laid; the last surviving radio-collared fox died 44 days after baits were laid. The overall population reduction was estimated to be >95%. Further implications of this high level of bait uptake are discussed in relation to immunocontraceptive control of foxes, as well as for population reduction or vaccination of foxes to control rabies. Reinvasion of the baited area occurred mainly in autumn, when juvenile foxes were dispersing. The relevance of this result is discussed in relation to developing more effective baiting strategies. As part of another experiment, outer sections of the baited area were periodically re-baited as a buffer zone to reduce immigration by foxes into the central baited area; the buffer baiting proved to be very effective in preventing recolonisation of the entire baited area.

scholarly journals Molecular evidence of kobuviruses in free-ranging red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

2014 ◽  
Vol 159 (7) ◽  
pp. 1803-1806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Di Martino ◽  
Federica Di Profio ◽  
Irene Melegari ◽  
Serena Robetto ◽  
Elisabetta Di Felice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
Molecular Evidence ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Free Ranging
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