Bid to import and breed silver foxes in Australia sparks environmental concerns

Silver foxes could be imported and kept as pets
Anonymous application claims foxes "help the environment"
Environmental experts, politicians slam "insane", "mad" bid
FOXES could soon go from farm predator to family pet.
An anonymous application to import and breed the silver fox, a relative of Australia's most damaging introduced predator the red fox, has sparked furore.

Animals Australia argues there's "virtually no evidence" of damage to the environment from foxes, but elsewhere the bid's being labelled as "mad" and "insane", The Weekly Times said.

Environment Minister Tony Burke is firmly against the application, so too Australian National University environment expert Professor David Lindamayer.

But their resistance to the application won't prevent it from being assessed by the Department of Environment,.

"The fox, if anything, helps the Australian environment for they kill both fully grown and baby rabbits more often than any other prey," the application said.

"Its offspring would have immunities to diseases ... red foxes have."

Other authorities though weighed in against the bid, with Victorian National Parks Association chief Matt Ruchel saying "extensive evidence" shows the damage caused by foxes.

He called control of foxes "critical" while Federal Agriculture Minister John Cobb labelled the import application "absurd", when bounty hunters are already paid to kill foxes.