AUSTRALIA has a history of disastrous introductions of exotic plants and animals.

Cane toads, rabbits, Indian mynahs, European carp, blackberries and thistles have damaged the Australian ecosystem, pushed native species towards extinction, and seriously hurt farm profits.

Arguably the worst of the introductions was the fox.

Feeding on the rabbits and hiding in the blackberries, the fox has colonised most of the nation - in both hot and cold climates.

Australia's 30 million foxes have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the Australian sheep industry, wrecked countless hen houses and wreaked havoc on native birdlife.

And so an application to import and breed silver foxes is ludicrous.

Animals would no doubt escape, or be set free, within months.

And the application to import the animal admits it would breed with wild foxes and pass on new immunities to them.

Assertions made by animal rights groups that there is "virtually no data" suggesting introduced species have a significant impact on the Australian environment would be hilarious if they weren't serious.

Animals Australia says foxes, cats, goats, pigs, rabbits and rats should not have been listed as "threatening" to the Australian environment.

Environmentalists and farmers alike will scoff at the Animals Australia "fact sheet" which contains the claims - it seriously erodes the credibility of the organisation.

The Invasive Animals Co-operative Research Centre, which sensibly opposes the application to import the foxes, says the red fox is responsible for pushing some 75 native animals closer to extinction.

Rather than devoting time to assessing this import application, perhaps the Department of Environment could invest resources into developing more effective controls for the foxes that are already here, as well as wild dogs, feral cats, blackberries, Indian mynahs and our other disastrous introductions.