VICTORIA’S fox and wild dog bounty collections restarted this week.
Designated collection centres are now operating across the state, including in Tatura, Benalla, Broadford, Mansfield, Ovens and Wodonga.
Collections close each summer, when hunters are encouraged to collect fox scalps and wild dog body parts on their properties, and to freeze or air dry them.
People can submit entire fox scalps for a $10 reward and entire wild dog body parts for a $120 reward during scheduled collection times.
Agriculture Victoria biosecurity manager, Jason Wishart, is urging hunters to refresh their knowledge about the terms and conditions to ensure they submit animal pieces covered by the bounty.
More than 874,000 fox scalps and 3,900 wild dog body parts have been collected in Victoria since the bounty was introduced in 2011.
“In 2020 alone, some 59,799 fox scalps and 417 wild dog body parts were collected from 1,062 hunters,” Mr Wishart said.
“We achieved this last year despite reduced mobility and a pause in collections. Although the numbers are lower than previous years, it was still a tremendous effort.
Foxes and wild dogs prey on livestock, especially lambs, inflicting significant economic and production loss to Victoria’s livestock sector. They also have an impact on native wildlife.
The 2021 bounty collections will run until the end of October.
