Red foxes in Australia

European red foxes were introduced to the British colonies of Van Diemen's Land as early as 1833, and to the Port Phillip District and Sydney Regions of New South Wales as early as 1845; introductions were, originally, intended to uphold the traditional English sport of fox hunting.

Curiously, prior to 2010, a permanent fox population was not established on the island of Tasmania, and it is widely held that they were outcompeted by the Tasmanian devil (Dasyuridae).

On the mainland, the species was successful as an apex predator, with the absence of numerous large, mammalian carnivores (excepting dingoes, which occasionally hunt the foxes).

Since 2010, confirmed evidence of foxes in Tasmania has been reported by the state's Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment.

The West Australian conservation department, CALM, estimates introduced predators are responsible for the extinction of ten native species in that state.

[11] Within smaller fenced reserves, eradicating feral cats and Red foxes can allow the reintroduction of extirpated mammal species.

[23] In 2016, an internal Department of Primary Industries report was leaked to the ABC that indicated zoologists employed by the Tasmanian Fox Taskforce had questioned if the data the program was based on was in fact fake.

Independent MP Ivan Dean filed a police complaint of fraud in light of the report's data.