By JOLENE OGLE
THE number of foxes in the Noosa Shire is increasing, with a recent report to the council revealing pest management staff are having trouble controlling wild dogs, foxes and other feral animals.
A report to the infrastructure and services committee on 10 November by waste and environmental health manager Wayne Schafer said fox numbers had been steadily increasing despite successful controls, while wild dogs have been a constant problem.
According to the report, the lack of control is the result of a number of issues including the council’s principal pest control officer being “incapacitated due to an unfortunate (car) accident”, reducing staff levels to two control officers and a temporary staff member.
The report states the two existing staff members are already busy with pest plant control and mosquito management, while the temporary staff member is managing public inquiries along with pest control.
To manage the issue, the report suggests the engagement of a contracted dog catcher.
“The proposal to engage wild dog control contractors is a temporary increase in service level compared to current levels, primarily due to the temporary loss of the highly-skilled employee undertaking this role and needed to address the resultant wild dog increase,” Mr Schafer said in the report.
The trial of the intensive trapping program using external contractors is expected to cost $39,000 at $650 per day and will run for three months in a range of rural areas such as Kin Kin, Federal, Cooran and Lake MacDonald, as well as the coastal towns of North Shore, Teewah Beach, and Noosa Heads.
According to the report, National Parks has been approached to seek approval to trap within their areas to “improve the effectiveness of the proposed program” and to encourage National Parks to conduct their own control program.
The control program was approved by councillors at the ordinary meeting on 19 November, and will include a range of control methods such as baiting with either 1080 or strychnine, foot trapping with soft jaw traps and cage trapping in areas where domestic dogs are at risk of being trapped.
