Invasive species

Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has welcomed a Senate Inquiry into the spread of red imported fire ants. Mr Littleproud said the inquiry was urgently needed, with Labor losing control of its National Fire Ant Eradication Program and failing to commit to the funding required.

Kidney-leaf mud plantain (Heteranthera reniformis) is an aquatic weed that was brought to Australia as a decorative pond plant. It has since washed into our freshwater waterways where it slows the movement of water, impedes the growth of native water plants, and reduces the food supply for aquatic life.

Following the cancellation of Shenhua’s plans to mine on the Liverpool Plains, work is underway to regenerate the land for the benefit of the community and the environment ... While some land has been sold to farmers, a 6,300ha parcel of land has been kept in public hands and is being managed by Local Land Services under a biodiversity project known as The Waratah Project.

The third national survey of pests and weeds shows 85 per cent of land managers spent on average around $21,950 in 2022 on pest and weed species management ... “Land managers reported that feral animals continue to cause considerable impacts on their properties in 2022,” Dr Greenville said.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has welcomed a one year extension to the Wild Dog Management Plan after calling for its renewal in recent weeks ... “It just made sense to extend the highly successful Wild Dog Management Plan”: VFF Livestock Group Vice-President and Tallangatta farmer Peter Star.

Suzie Christensen. The Checkpoint program conducted in July 2023 has found no sign of rats or mice on Lord Howe Island for over two years, signalling a significant milestone in the Rodent Eradication Project ... More than 950 detection device checks were undertaken using 140 tracking tunnels, 32 trail cameras, and 300 wax tags and chew cards, along with sweeps with detection dogs.

In an impressive feat, Roper Gulf Regional Council has successfully lead a ground breaking feral pig management and removal program in the communities of Numbulwar and Ngukurr last month. This initiative underscores the solid commitment to the health and well-being of all residents, particularly in addressing the significant health risks associated with feral pigs, including the threat of Japanese encephalitis.

The National Management Group (NMG), of which Melons Australia represents industry on, confirmed at its meeting on 19 September 2023 that eradication of Varroa destructor (varroa mite) is no longer feasible based on technical grounds, following advice from the Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests (CCEPP). The response will now enter a transition to management phase.

Buffel grass is a threat to remote Indigenous communities in Australia because it causes heightened fire risk, damage to cultural sites, and a reduction in the ability to pass on cultural knowledge to the next generation ... Left unmanaged, the weed poses a threat to grazing and cropping systems because it spreads quickly in hotter, stormier weather.

Here kitty, kitty – here’s the thing – there are almost five million cats in Australia. Research by the  Invasive Species Council  found that 70% of cat owners let their cats roam freely outdoors. An average roaming cat kills 186 animals a year...

In the wake of IPBES' release of the Invasive Alien Species Assessment, CSIRO's Dr Andy Sheppard explains why invasive species are of urgent concern, providing key insights with a focus on Australia. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES; often described as the IPCC for biodiversity) released its  Invasive Alien Species Assessment  in Bonn, Germany, on 4 September 2023.

The Shire of Denmark will blitz Sydney golden wattle for a third consecutive year in an effort to eradicate the invasive weed in the shire. Over winter, Shire officers have mapped reported sightings of Sydney golden wattle and Tasmanian blackwood with a long-term aim to control the weeds.

Their actions have saved countless native wildlife and where they go, the cameras follow. Conservation dogs are back on the Sunshine Coast, with up-and-coming canine Cooper taking the lead and his protégé Hakka in tow.

Introduced foxes, dogs, cats, rats, and other predators kill millions of native animals every year, but what if they were conditioned to associate this prey with food that made them ill? A team of international researchers have shown the potential to do just that, burying baits containing capsules of levamisole, a chemical that induces nausea and vomiting when consumed by predators.

What do bum-breathing turtles, conservation dogs and giant rat’s tail grasses have in common? It’s all on the schedule as Sunshine Coast Council hosts the Invasive Plants and Animals Workshop event at Obi Obi Hall on September 2 to arm residents with the knowledge to fight invasives on their property.

Media reports of  a new government plan to combat the spread of Red Imported Fire Ants only serve to further highlight the government’s continuing failure to fulfil one of its most basic responsibilities ... CANEGROWERS CEO Dan Galligan has said ... a much smaller treatment area around the Scenic Rim and Gold Coast will be targeted, effectively allowing one of the most dangerous and destructive invasive species in the world to continue spreading north and west unhindered.

Member for Benambra, Bill Tilley, fears farms in the Upper Murray will again be under constant threat from wild dogs if the rules for trappers are watered down. On Tuesday night in the Victorian Parliament, Mr Tilley called on the Agriculture Minister to visit the region and hear from the landholders who lived through the carnage of the early 2000s.

Adrian Tomlinson. Fire is one of the terrible consequences of buffel, the invasive grass many call a weed, and which is declared as such in neighbouring South Australia ... Yet the NT Government seems to be responding to this emergency without great strategy, judging by answers given to Araluen’s independent MLA Robyn Lambley, who put questions in Parliament suggested by the Alice Springs News.

The recently released East Victoria Deer Control Plan 2023–2028 is encouraging agencies and the community to develop local cost-effective options collaboratively and contribute to monitoring to improve knowledge and success of the program over time.

South Australia is leading the nation in removing feral deer, with the 10-year South Australian Feral Deer Eradication Program aiming to eradicate the pest from the state by 2032 ... There were an estimated 40,000 feral deer estimated in South Australia in 2022, and since the program’s commencement in May 2022, over 8,000 feral deer have been removed.

Michelle Daw. Barunga West Council says its ratepayers are not getting value for money from the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board levy ... " ... no Landscape SA staff members are stationed within the Barunga West local government area. Moreover, the council receives infrequent visits from officers and there is minimal engagement regarding the board’s activities or support for the Barunga West region": Maree Wauhope, council CEO.

The NSW Government is ramping up efforts to tackle rising feral pig populations across the state, providing an $8 million boost to help fund a new coordinated control program ... The one-year program will bring the NSW Government spend on control of feral pig populations to $13 million in the 2023-24 financial year.