After the Tasmanian and Federal governments have spent $50 Million on programs to eradicating invasive European Red Foxes, a report says the evidence justifying the expense was likely faked.

The governments have collaborated on finding and killing foxes since 2001.  But according to the ABC, a zoologist raised doubts about the veracity of foxes reported on the island date back in 2011.  And earlier this month, Biosecurity Tasmania ruled that a dead fox found on the side of a highway in northern Tasmania in October wasn't local at all - it had been brought in from Victoria.

And then, there's the poop.  Like the dead foxes found recently, the 57 samples that have tested positive for fox DNA could also have been brought from the mainland.  "Sufficient evidence exists to suspect that some hoaxing has occurred via mainland fox scats being placed in the landscape," wrote zoologist Simon Fearn in the report obtained by the ABC.  He determined that 26 of the 57 turds could be hoaxes; another eleven were most likely from other animals.

"The evidence being produced since 2002 or 2000 is all very questionable, and in actual fact a lot of it has certainly been hoaxed and been fraudulent," said Ivan Dean.  The former police commander and state independent MP says the Fearn report ought to have been made public.