MORE than $6 million has been paid to fox shooters by the Victorian Government since a bounty was introduced in 2011.

The fox bounty, worth $10 per scalp, has been paid out to 13,631 people at a cost of $6.07 million to the Victorian taxpayer.

The latest figures from the Department of Economic Development Jobs Transport and Resources showed the long-term average was 2176 applicants, providing 98,413 fox scalps and 535 wild dog skins each year

That equates to an annual average of almost 45 fox scalps — worth $450 — provided by each applicant.

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The figures also show that significantly fewer fox bounties were collected last year.

“This has been attributed to extended wet and warm periods over much of the state, leading to less favourable conditions for hunting and reduced hunting effort,” a DEDJTR spokesman said.

“The impact of extreme wet conditions during the 2016 breeding season is not understood and may have also contributed to lower numbers”.

The Victorian Farmers Federation said foxes were a major issue across a lot of Victoria. “The bounty is a small way to acknowledge those that help manage the problem,” VFF president David Jochinke said.

Gippsland hunter Pud Howard said the bounty had potentially eradicated tens of thousands of mating fox pairs.

“That’s a lot of foxes in anyone’s terms,” he said.

Mr Howard was not surprised to learn that fox scalps had fallen recently.

“Anecdotally they’re not being claimed, because the foxes are not there to be shot.”

When the bounty commenced in October 2011 a $50 bounty was provided for wild dog skins. It increased to $100 per skin in March 2013.

The Labor Government axed the wild dog bounty in 2015-16 but reintroduced it from March this year, at $120 a skin.

The latest statistics follow a parliamentary inquiry into invasive animals on crown land.

The inquiry found: “many hunters support bounties as a way to increase hunting effort and compensate recreational hunters for their work.” However, an evaluation of an earlier fox bounty scheme in Victoria suggested that bounties may not be effective in reducing the impact of invasive species,” the report said.