Feral pigs in Australia

YouTube video playlist: Pigs arrived in Australia with the First Fleet and today feral populations inhabit around 40% of Australia. Feral pigs cause agricultural damage through predation of newborn lambs, reduction in crop yields, damage to fences and water sources, and competition with stock for feed by consuming or damaging pasture. They also are considered [...]

PestSmart Factsheet: Warren and harbour destruction

A strategic rabbit control program that features warren and harbour destruction is the most cost-effective way to reduce rabbit populations and prevent ongoing damage, particularly when applied over large, semi-arid areas. Rabbits can survive by building extensive underground warrens or using above-ground shelter, such as lantana or blackberry bushes. With good planning and coordination, long-term [...]

PestSmart Factsheet: Fencing for fox control

Barrier or exclusion fencing is a non-lethal method commonly used to prevent fox attacks on domestic livestock and threatened wildlife species. Although fences are commonly used to protect livestock (eg poultry) from fox predation on a small backyard scale, they have only recently been used on a larger scale in Australia. This has mainly been [...]

PestSmart Case Study: Foxes on Phillip Island

Fox predation is considered the greatest land-based threat to the long-term viability of the penguin colonies on Phillip Island, one of Victoria’s leading tourist attractions. Regular fox control for 20 years up to 2006 had reduced the fox population, but penguins continued to be preyed upon. It was decided that an eradication program should be [...]

PestSmart Factsheet: Advances in the molecular ecology of foxes

Advances in molecular biology and bioinformatics have permitted the development of the non-invasive analysis of DNA, otherwise known as genetic tagging. This technology has the ability not only to distinguish between species but also to identify individual animals. Combined with the range of non-invasive survey techniques (eg hair or scat collection), DNA analysis has become [...]

PestSmart Factsheet: Poison baiting for rabbit control

Poison baiting is often a logical first step in an integrated program of rabbit management. However, if used alone, baiting provides only short-term control and is therefore best used as a means of reducing rabbit numbers before carrying out other controls such as warren destruction. In some situations baiting may be the only immediately feasible [...]

Improved Implementation of Regional Fox Management Programs 2010

The European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) has been identified by the Australian Vertebrate Pests Committee as a national priority invasive species, and fox predation has being identified as a key threatening process by the Commonwealth and NSW State Governments. It has been estimated to cost the Australian agricultural industries and the environment more than $227 [...]

PestSmart DVD: Guide to Practical Pest Animal Management

A two-disc DVD set of practical instructions on a range of pest animal control methods, new products and monitoring techniques for land and pest animal managers. These instructional clips can also be found online at www.youtube.com/PestSmart. The techniques and products used are relevant to production and biodiversity based vertebrate pest control management programs. The views [...]

Development of new toxins for wild dog and fox control

YouTube video: Simon Humphrys is the Commercialisation Manager with the Invasive Animals CRC. In this video, Simon discusses new toxins being developed for wild dog and fox control. This new toxin, PAPP, is being formulated into new baits. Wild dogs and foxes pose a threat to livestock such as sheep, cattle, goats and poultry. In [...]

Best Practice Camel Book

This book is an illustrated reference of the Australian Standard and Guidelines for the land transport of camels, The Code of Practice for the humane control of feral camels; and Standard Operating Procedures for mustering and ground shooting of feral camels. It uses over 150 cartoons, drawings, diagrams, and photographs to illustrate the text and [...]

Catalogue of fence designs

This catalogue compiles schematic diagrams and specifications (where available) of fences that have been used to exclude the specified feral animals (foxes, feral cats, feral rabbits, feral goats, feral pigs and dingoes/feral dogs). The catalogue designs were identified either from the reviewed literature or discussions with current managers of exclusion fences in Australia and New [...]

Cost Effective Feral Animal Exclusion Fencing for Areas of High Conservation Value in Australia

Introduced feral animals in Australia pose a serious risk to native flora and fauna communities. The Department of the Environment and Heritage recognises in particular the impacts of European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), feral cats (Felis catus), feral goats (Capra hircus), feral pigs (Sus scrofa) and feral rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as key threatening processes (Environment [...]

Radio-collared feral cat in cage trap

Image shows a feral cat captured in a cage trap and radio-collared for a research project on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Entered by Andrew Bengsen in the Invasive Animals CRC’s Feral Photos 2011 photography competition. This image file may be freely downloaded and used without permission of the copyright holder for educational purposes only. If the image [...]

Tilapia in Australia – Development of management strategies for the control and eradication of feral tilapia populations in Australia

This report presents a culmination of different research projects on two species of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus and Tilapia mariae) and provides recommendations for the future management and research of these pest fish. Feral  populations of O. mossambicus and T. mariae are now widely distributed in tropical northeastern Queensland, with O. mossambicus also occurring in southeastern [...]

Feral pig

Paroo Model of Wild Dog Control

The Paroo Shire residents have been leaders in developing and implementing best practice in the coordinated control of wild dogs. Wild Dogs are defined as feral dogs, dingoes and hybrid canines and are a declared pest under the Land  Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002. The Paroo Shire Council made a decision in [...]

PestSmart Factsheet: Tools and strategies for wild dog management

There are several different lethal and non-lethal tools available to control wild dogs. These include poison baits, traps, shooting, fencing, guard animals and aversion techniques (such as lights, alarms, and flagging). Not all tools are useful for a given area; each tool varies in its effectiveness, depending on a range of factors specific to the [...]

PestSmart Factsheet: Wild dog policy and legislation considerations

Wild dogs are identified by the national Vertebrate Pests Committee as a ‘Category 5 / Extreme’ species. Category 5 means that the animal is a recognised pest that is both widespread and established, while an Extreme classification indicates that such animals should not be allowed to enter, nor be kept in any state or territory [...]

PestSmart Factsheet: Rabbit legislation in Australia

Wild European rabbits are one of Australia’s most widely distributed and abundant pest animal species. They cause severe damage to the natural environment as well as to agricultural production areas. Controlling rabbits is often difficult because of the large areas that need to be treated, issues with coordination of broadscale control programs and the costs [...]

PestSmart Factsheet: Using RHDV for rabbit control

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD), previously known as calicivirus or rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD), has been highly effective in reducing rabbit populations across most of Australia. The virus that causes RHD (called rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus or RHDV) is spread through rabbit-to-rabbit contact and by insect carriers (eg flies and mosquitoes). Fact sheet covering the different [...]