Experienced aerial shooters will be hired to cull feral pigs and other pests in flood-hit north-west Queensland.
The cull is being funded under an $11.32 million primary producer support package as part of joint Commonwealth-state disaster recovery funding in response to North Queensland’s monsoon Trough and ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji.
Feral pigs carry disease, damage waterways and the environment and prey on livestock, the state government says.
While floodwaters are high, feral pigs are trapped on higher ground or are slow moving through boggy terrain, ideal for aerial culling.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain says: “We know that with the amount of fencing that’s been damaged, feral pigs can cause major issues and further losses if we don’t act quickly.
“All levels of government are working closely with local authorities to get out in front of this problem.”
TRAP FOR FERAL PIGS
Queensland’s Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett says the time to act is now before the ground dries out and conditions will mean a feral pig population boom.
“These conditions are very good for experienced contractors to work with landholders to identify these mobs of feral pigs, which group together in these conditions,” he says.
“It’s an opportunity to significantly reduce the population density and prevent an explosion in numbers later, which could have a devastating impact on our environment and on stock numbers.”
He says his government takes the invasive species management “very seriously”; he points to their appointing 100 new biosecurity officers and support for ground control with $2.2m for regional co-ordinators and $2m in targeted grants for producers.
Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries says it is well placed in plan to control predatory pests in affected areas of the Gulf of Carpentaria (Flinders and Gilbert River catchments).
The department is also working with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service to coordinate the response across protected areas.
In 2023, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) put the cost of feral pigs to the national economy at $156 million annually; $95m of this loss was in Queensland.
IF YOU SEE A FERAL PIG
Look out for signs of emergency animal diseases in feral pigs and immediately report anything unusual to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
Support a national feral pig mapping project by clicking here to report feral pig populations.
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