Mt Evelyn family’s chickens and ducks killed by brazen fox that chewed through wire

A BRAZEN fox has chewed through wire to massacre a Mt Evelyn family’s chickens and ducks in a horror daylight attack — and it wasn’t the first time their animals had been targeted by the pests.

Sue Ramone and her family are devastated after foxes killed their ducks and chickens. Picture: Steve Tanner

A BRAZEN fox has chewed through wire to massacre a Mt Evelyn family’s chickens and ducks in a horror daylight attack.

The feral animal tried to tunnel underneath the cage to get to the birds but when that failed it managed to chew a hole through the chicken wire before killing five ducks and one chicken on January 10.

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Pet owner Sue Ramone said it was the third time a fox had targeted the poultry since her family had bought them in October.

The first time, their eldest daughter Amelia, who cares for the animals and has a mild intellectual disability, was home during the day when she saw a fox chasing the birds around the garden.

It killed the family’s male duck and two chickens.

“My husband suggested we don’t let the birds out of their cage unless we were there to supervise,” Mrs Ramone said.

Johnny Moore was so worried about foxes he put lattice on top of his fence to stop the pests coming into his yard. Picture: Christopher Chan.

She said the second attack happened while she and her husband were in the kitchen and Amelia had come inside briefly after spending time with the birds in the garden.

“We let them out and … within a few minutes of Amelia coming inside, the fox was chasing the birds around the garden,” Mrs Ramone said.

There were only five ducks and one chicken left when the fox managed to get into the bird cage and kill the rest of them.

“We were all pretty devastated and it’s also an invasion of privacy,” she said.

Mrs Ramone said she had contacted Yarra Ranges Council, which referred her to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

Leader previously reported the council backed calls for more to be done by the State Government to combat foxes after neighbours in a Belgrave street were fed up with the pests running rampant.

Daniel Morphett, with Chloe, was devastated after a fox killed his other poodle.

An Agriculture Victoria spokesman, who did not want to be named, said landowners had a responsibility to prevent the spread of, and eradicate, pest animals.

The spokesman said in urban areas where shooting and baiting was not feasible, other control measures could be suitable including den fumigation, property hygiene, exclusion fencing and use of guardian animals.

“Foxes cannot be eradicated from Victoria, they are widespread and established, requiring ongoing management by all land managers,” he said.

He said landowners were encouraged to make their properties “fox unfriendly” by reducing potential fox habitat, making sure food scraps and pet food were not left out and poultry were housed in secure, roofed enclosures.