Geoff Helisma, Clarence Valley Independent

A video of feral pigs on a path at Iluka, posted on the Iluka NSW Community – General Information and Noticeboard Facebook page on April 14, attracted at least 80 comments over the following seven days.

Comments ranged from lamenting, “They are a major menace! Why hasn’t something been done about these pigs on the road by now??”, to comments about how cute they are, to debates about who could or should shoot them and why they can’t.

One commenter correctly pointed out, “Feral pigs seriously damage the environment. Destroy farm crops, gardens, nature strips and eat small native inhabitants in the forest. They are a major menace!” then asked, “Why hasn’t something been done about these pigs on the road by now??”

To which another answered, “You feel so strongly against them yet sit there waiting for someone to do something because you won’t yourself.”

However, there were no suggestions among the commenters that concerned people should report their sightings to Local Land Services (LLS), the NSW Government agency that is responsible for the control of feral animals.

The North Coast LLS’s invasive pests, team leader operations, Dean Chamberlain, said he had not received any recent reports about feral pig sightings in and around Iluka.

“People who sight feral pigs can contact LLS and report it by calling 1300 795 299,” he said.

“It helps us build a picture of what’s happening in the landscape.”

Regarding feral pigs at Iluka, he said, “We know from past experience that these pigs are usually moving in and out of the national park, so we work in coordination with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Clarence Valley Council.

“However, nothing happens if no one tells us; otherwise, we are just sitting in the dark – we need to know so we can take some action.”

People who would prefer not to report their sightings by phone to LLS can use the FeralPigScan app – www.feralscan.org.au/feralpigscan/ – which is free.

According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries, feral pigs “disturb natural environments through rooting up soils, native grasses and forest litter, consuming a range of native plants and fouling freshwater systems”.

They “also eat a range of native animals including, earthworms, beetles, centipedes, amphipods, snails, frogs, lizards, snakes, turtles and their eggs and small ground-nesting birds and their eggs”. “Environmental impacts of feral pigs are so serious that they are listed as a ‘Key Threatening Process’ under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995,” the DPI website states.

“At the time of writing [most likely in 2020], 53 threatened species, populations or communities were listed as threatened by predation, habitat degradation, competition or disease transmission from feral pigs.”

This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 27 April 2022.