Australia drafts AI-driven plan to target invasive foxes while protecting native wildlife

A new federal strategy for Australia’s red-fox problem proposes deploying AI-powered bait stations, image-recognition traps and thermal-camera devices to better target the invasive predator while sparing native fauna. The draft threat abatement plan notes that foxes now inhabit roughly 80 % of the country, with densities as high as 16 individuals per square kilometre across central Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, and are estimated to kill more than 300 million native animals each year.

One prototype, the sentinel bait station, uses AI to differentiate foxes from other animals and restrict bait access; an initial field trial yielded encouraging results despite not encountering any foxes. Conservationists such as Rob Brewster of the Invasive Species Council welcome the technological push but warn that long-term investment is essential, while Hamish McIntyre of the National Farmers Federation calls for coordinated action among farmers and governments.

The plan also retains traditional methods—poisoning, trapping, shooting, exclusion fencing and island eradication—and sets a 30-year goal to reduce fox impacts enough to secure vulnerable species. Researchers like Bronwyn Hradsky note that eradication across the continent remains unrealistic without new biological controls, positioning AI as a precision tool rather than a complete solution.