But before Friday, a registered charity called Sydney Fox Rescue had saved orphaned and injured fox cubs and, through various socialisation programs, successfully adopted them out as tame pets.

There are more than 40 households across the state in which foxes are considered one of the family. But when NSW Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson signed off on the new legislation, she also implemented a "kill all" policy for the species.

While existing fox owners will be allowed to retain their animals, no new animals can be kept privately. As of Friday, all foxes, found by members of the public, must be euthanised – including abandoned cubs.

As the charity prepared to close its doors last week, a call came through from Wagga Wagga, in southern NSW, where a 12-week-old cub, on Tuesday, had survived being hit by a car. And so the organisation embarked on one final mission: A frantic 10-hour round trip to not only retrieve the injured fox but find it an adoptive family before the Friday deadline - when the order was gazetted. Sydney Fox Rescue president Charlie Jackson-Martin: "She's cheated death twice now this week...she doesn't realise how lucky she is."

He said that during the draft consultation phase in October, the charity acknowledged the need for the Pest Control Order but also submitted a detailed proposal for a permit system that would allow it to continue rescuing and re-homing injured cubs.