<P> Red foxes are wide - ranging animals, whose range covers nearly 70 million km (27 million sq mi). They are distributed across the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and Asia . They are absent in Iceland, the Arctic islands, some parts of Siberia, and in extreme deserts . </P> <P> Red foxes are not present in New Zealand and are classed as a "prohibited new organism" under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, preventing them from being imported . </P> <P> In Australia, 2012 estimates indicate that there are more than 7.2 million red foxes with a range extending throughout most of the continental mainland . The species became established in Australia through successive introductions by settlers in 1830s in the British colonies of Van Diemen's Land (as early as 1833) and the Port Phillip District of New South Wales (as early as 1845) for the purpose of the traditional English sport of fox hunting . A permanent fox population was not established on the island of Tasmania and it is widely held that they were outcompeted by the Tasmanian devil . On the mainland, however, the species was successful as an apex predator . It is generally less common in areas where the dingo is more prevalent, however it has, primarily through its burrowing behaviour, achieved niche differentiation with both the feral dog and the feral cat . As such it has become one of the continent's most invasive species . The red fox has been implicated in the extinction and decline of several native Australian species, particularly those of the family Potoroidae including the desert rat - kangaroo . The spread of red foxes across the southern part of the continent has coincided with the spread of rabbits in Australia and corresponds with declines in the distribution of several medium - sized ground - dwelling mammals, including brush - tailed bettongs, burrowing bettongs, rufous bettongs, bilbys, numbats, bridled nailtail wallabys and quokkas . Most of these species are now limited to areas (such as islands) where red foxes are absent or rare . Local eradication programs exist, although eradication has proven difficult due to the denning behaviour and nocturnal hunting, so the focus is on management with the introduction of state bounties . According to the Tasmanian government, red foxes were introduced to the previously fox - free island of Tasmania in 1999 or 2000, posing a significant threat to native wildlife including the eastern bettong, and an eradication program conducted by the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water has been established . </P> <P> The origin of the Sardinian ichnusae subspecies is uncertain, as it is absent from Pleistocene deposits in their current homeland . It is possible it originated during the Neolithic following its introduction to the island by humans . It is likely then that Sardinian fox populations stem from repeated introductions of animals from different localities in the Mediterranean . This latter theory may explain the subspecies' phenotypic diversity . </P>

How does the red fox trick other animals