NSW Farmers Association, Media Release, 4 February 2026
New data has revealed the NSW Government is contributing just ‘bits of bacon’ to the desperate effort to curb feral pigs, the state’s peak farm body says.
Media reports of 53,000 feral pigs culled by authorities over the past year were dwarfed by the estimated tens of millions of the pests farmers were reporting in the paddock, NSW Farmers’ President Xavier Martin said.
“This isn’t the whole population control we need to see, it’s just a few bits of bacon,” Mr Martin said.
“We’ve never seen pig numbers this bad before, and I’m hearing report upon report from farmers who have hordes of these pests just tearing through their farms like a relentless force that can’t be stopped.”
Mr Martin said farmers feared the feral pig population would only surge without the delivery of an effective control strategy in the next state budget.
“Five figure culls simply aren’t going to do the job when numbers are surging, farmers are being restricted in what tools they can use, and there’s no guarantee of funding for control programs past June 30,” Mr Martin said.
“Previous investments have been helpful, but we need to see the state government commit to a long term, coordinated control strategy that doesn’t just draw on a variety of tactics, but delivers real results.
“The NSW Government has promised to do its bit to control these pests, but we know they’re still breeding up on public land as farmers fight an uphill battle against them.
“It’s time for the Treasurer to come to the party this state budget season and get serious about feral pigs if we’re ever going to break the breeding cycle, for good.”
