The program, introduced in 2011, rewards eligible Victorian hunters with a $10 bounty for each fox killed, and $120 for each wild dog killed.

Recent figures from the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR) indicated there have been 64,182 foxes and 307 wild dog scalps handed in so far this calendar year.

That’s a total spend on bounties of $678,660 for the year so far, and close to $6.7 million since 2011, so is it money well spent?

Invasive Species Council chief executive Andrew Cox said this money could be better invested, as the bounty scheme encourages the least effective method of killing foxes and wild dogs – shooting.

“For foxes and dogs, we know that ground shooting isn’t the most effective method. They’re clever animals and once they’ve been shot at, they can learn very quickly how to avoid being shot in the future,” Mr Cox said. 

“With the bounty, you need to have a body, and with baiting, the most effective method, there is nobody, so that encourages shooting and trapping.”

He said a proper review of the program was needed, similar to the 2005 review of the 2002-03 bounty program in Victoria by DEDJTR.

That review recommended that the bounty trial discontinue, and “replaced with targeted and coordinated programs to assist landholders to achieve a sustained reduction”.

It indicated the scheme could not provide the level of broad scale, consistent control required to reduce the population, and cited a survey of shooters’ attitudes that suggested shooters reduced their activity during fox breeding periods to ensure “next year’s crop”.

Mr Cox said the bounty program is not effectively reducing numbers in the worst problem areas.

“Bounties are often proposed as a solution to pests, but they don’t work. They create an incentive to have more foxes and wild dogs around,” he said.

A DEDJTR spokesperson said the bounty scheme is one of many approaches that it supports.

“Foxes and wild dogs are established pest animals in Victoria that cannot be eradicated from the State, and require ongoing management by all landowners,” the spokesperson said.

“Effective management requires an integrated approach utilising all available management practices including poison baiting, trapping, exclusion fencing, fumigation and appropriate animal husbandry.”

The spokesperson said the scheme played an essential role in engaging Victorian hunters in pest control.

“Hunting has an important role in supporting an integrated management approach to mitigate impacts of fox predation,” they said.

To ensure scalps are from Victorian animals, the applicant must provide evidence of residency, and sign an acknowledgment that the animal was from Victoria.

Other approaches:

Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) has invested more than $600,000 into wild dog control initiatives in Victoria.

It has funded 170 wild dog community groups in Victoria since 2011, with 37 of those groups still active.

AWI said it conducted 133 surveys on Victorian farmers who participated in the program, with 44 per cent of those surveyed saying they had lost sheep to wild dogs before the program, and then only 27pc saying they had lost sheep after the program had finished.

The programs have covered more than 1.6 million hectares, and offered finances for bait, tools and training.

A program that enables farmers to share real-time information about wild dogs, including attacks and sightings, has also been released, called WildDogScan.

It is a free resource for landholders and pest controllers, and has so far recorded 13,290 sightings.

Ensay beef producer Peter Fraser said incidents of fox and wild dog attacks had dropped significantly at his property in recent years, thanks to local initiatives.

“We did have a big problem and things have happened. We ended up in this baiting program, where farmers are given bait for free and you put it in the bush and on your farm – I believe that really helped,” Mr Fraser said.

“Every tool is good, and baiting has certainly helped us, but there must still be shooters and trappers.

“We have an excellent trapper at the moment, he’s got new methods, and lots of cameras and stuff, it’s bloody sensational.”