Experts warned governments the national fire ant eradication program needed at least $200 million a year to stay ahead of the invasion. In 2023 governments chose to spend just $60 million instead.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed today’s announcement that, for the first time, Australia’s national fire ant eradication program is moving inward to target the core infestation area after years of successfully suppressing fire ant populations on the invasion’s outer edges.
The Queensland state budget has thrown Australia’s fire ant eradication effort a much-needed lifeline, but stopped short of providing the long-term certainty needed to finish the job, says the Invasive Species Council.
The Invasive Species Council is urging residents across southeast Queensland to help find and report fire ant nests during a critical winter detection window, following the detection of a fire ant nest at Kunda Park on the Sunshine Coast.
The Invasive Species Council has warned the federal budget fails to match the scale of Australia’s invasive species crisis, with cuts to key pest and weed programs and ongoing short-term funding locking in uncertainty for frontline efforts.
An independent review of Australia’s fire ant eradication program has confirmed the nation is on track with its plan to eliminate one of the world’s worst invasive species – but the Invasive Species Council warns progress will be at risk if funding is not continued beyond next year.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed a major yellow crazy ant eradication milestone in Far North Queensland, saying the success shows what sustained investment can achieve – and why the federal government must prevent a looming Saving Native Species funding cliff in the budget in a few weeks.
An invasive fire ant nest has been destroyed inside one of Australia’s most iconic World Heritage rainforests, highlighting both the ongoing threat fire ants pose to treasured natural places and the critical importance of fully funded eradication.
As summer kicks in and families head outdoors across northern NSW and south-east Queensland, the Invasive Species Council is urging holidaymakers to help protect their favourite places from one of Australia’s most dangerous invasive pests – fire ants.
A delegation from Queensland has travelled to Australian Parliament House to meet with the Albanese Government and Coalition Opposition seeking urgent action to fight fire ants.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the Queensland government’s renewed $6 million 2 year commitment to continue the fight against yellow crazy ants – but says the Albanese Government now needs to step up with matched funding.
An independent review into Australia’s national fire ant eradication program has begun, after repeated warnings from the Invasive Species Council that governments were underfunding the fight against one of the world’s most destructive invasive species.
The Invasive Species Council says mining companies should step in to cover the cost of fire ant outbreaks linked to their operations, after new detections confirmed infestations across five mine sites in Queensland’s Central Highlands and Isaac Council regions.
A major fire ant outbreak has been confirmed at BHP’s Broadmeadow coal mine, the first time this invasive super pest has been found in central Queensland.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the Queensland Government’s announcement that fire ant treatment will now occur year-round, describing it as a smart, science-backed move that could significantly boost the effectiveness of the national eradication effort.
Experts warned governments the national fire ant eradication program needed at least $200 million a year to stay ahead of the invasion. In 2023 governments chose to spend just $60 million instead.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed today’s announcement that, for the first time, Australia’s national fire ant eradication program is moving inward to target the core infestation area after years of successfully suppressing fire ant populations on the invasion’s outer edges.
The Queensland state budget has thrown Australia’s fire ant eradication effort a much-needed lifeline, but stopped short of providing the long-term certainty needed to finish the job, says the Invasive Species Council.
The Invasive Species Council is urging residents across southeast Queensland to help find and report fire ant nests during a critical winter detection window, following the detection of a fire ant nest at Kunda Park on the Sunshine Coast.
The Invasive Species Council has warned the federal budget fails to match the scale of Australia’s invasive species crisis, with cuts to key pest and weed programs and ongoing short-term funding locking in uncertainty for frontline efforts.
An independent review of Australia’s fire ant eradication program has confirmed the nation is on track with its plan to eliminate one of the world’s worst invasive species – but the Invasive Species Council warns progress will be at risk if funding is not continued beyond next year.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed a major yellow crazy ant eradication milestone in Far North Queensland, saying the success shows what sustained investment can achieve – and why the federal government must prevent a looming Saving Native Species funding cliff in the budget in a few weeks.
An invasive fire ant nest has been destroyed inside one of Australia’s most iconic World Heritage rainforests, highlighting both the ongoing threat fire ants pose to treasured natural places and the critical importance of fully funded eradication.
As summer kicks in and families head outdoors across northern NSW and south-east Queensland, the Invasive Species Council is urging holidaymakers to help protect their favourite places from one of Australia’s most dangerous invasive pests – fire ants.
A delegation from Queensland has travelled to Australian Parliament House to meet with the Albanese Government and Coalition Opposition seeking urgent action to fight fire ants.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the Queensland government’s renewed $6 million 2 year commitment to continue the fight against yellow crazy ants – but says the Albanese Government now needs to step up with matched funding.
An independent review into Australia’s national fire ant eradication program has begun, after repeated warnings from the Invasive Species Council that governments were underfunding the fight against one of the world’s most destructive invasive species.
The Invasive Species Council says mining companies should step in to cover the cost of fire ant outbreaks linked to their operations, after new detections confirmed infestations across five mine sites in Queensland’s Central Highlands and Isaac Council regions.
A major fire ant outbreak has been confirmed at BHP’s Broadmeadow coal mine, the first time this invasive super pest has been found in central Queensland.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the Queensland Government’s announcement that fire ant treatment will now occur year-round, describing it as a smart, science-backed move that could significantly boost the effectiveness of the national eradication effort.
Experts warned governments the national fire ant eradication program needed at least $200 million a year to stay ahead of the invasion. In 2023 governments chose to spend just $60 million instead.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed today’s announcement that, for the first time, Australia’s national fire ant eradication program is moving inward to target the core infestation area after years of successfully suppressing fire ant populations on the invasion’s outer edges.
The Queensland state budget has thrown Australia’s fire ant eradication effort a much-needed lifeline, but stopped short of providing the long-term certainty needed to finish the job, says the Invasive Species Council.
The Invasive Species Council is urging residents across southeast Queensland to help find and report fire ant nests during a critical winter detection window, following the detection of a fire ant nest at Kunda Park on the Sunshine Coast.
The Invasive Species Council has warned the federal budget fails to match the scale of Australia’s invasive species crisis, with cuts to key pest and weed programs and ongoing short-term funding locking in uncertainty for frontline efforts.
An independent review of Australia’s fire ant eradication program has confirmed the nation is on track with its plan to eliminate one of the world’s worst invasive species – but the Invasive Species Council warns progress will be at risk if funding is not continued beyond next year.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed a major yellow crazy ant eradication milestone in Far North Queensland, saying the success shows what sustained investment can achieve – and why the federal government must prevent a looming Saving Native Species funding cliff in the budget in a few weeks.
An invasive fire ant nest has been destroyed inside one of Australia’s most iconic World Heritage rainforests, highlighting both the ongoing threat fire ants pose to treasured natural places and the critical importance of fully funded eradication.
As summer kicks in and families head outdoors across northern NSW and south-east Queensland, the Invasive Species Council is urging holidaymakers to help protect their favourite places from one of Australia’s most dangerous invasive pests – fire ants.
A delegation from Queensland has travelled to Australian Parliament House to meet with the Albanese Government and Coalition Opposition seeking urgent action to fight fire ants.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the Queensland government’s renewed $6 million 2 year commitment to continue the fight against yellow crazy ants – but says the Albanese Government now needs to step up with matched funding.
An independent review into Australia’s national fire ant eradication program has begun, after repeated warnings from the Invasive Species Council that governments were underfunding the fight against one of the world’s most destructive invasive species.
The Invasive Species Council says mining companies should step in to cover the cost of fire ant outbreaks linked to their operations, after new detections confirmed infestations across five mine sites in Queensland’s Central Highlands and Isaac Council regions.
A major fire ant outbreak has been confirmed at BHP’s Broadmeadow coal mine, the first time this invasive super pest has been found in central Queensland.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the Queensland Government’s announcement that fire ant treatment will now occur year-round, describing it as a smart, science-backed move that could significantly boost the effectiveness of the national eradication effort.
Get our blog the Feral Herald delivered to your inbox.
Our protected areas are being trashed, trampled, choked and polluted by an onslaught of invaders. Invasive species are already the overwhelming driver of our animal extinction rate, and are expected to cause 75 of the next 100 extinctions.
But you can help to turn this around and create a wildlife revival in Australia.
From numbats to night parrots, a tax-deductible donation today can help defend our wildlife against the threat of invasive weeds, predators, and diseases.
As the only national advocacy environment group dedicated to stopping this mega threat, your gift will make a big difference.
A silent crisis is unfolding across Australia. Every year, billions of native animals are hunted and killed by cats and foxes. Fire ants continue to spread and threaten human health. And the deadly strain of bird flu looms on the horizon. Your donation today will be used to put the invasive species threat in the media, make invasive species a government priority, ensure governments take rapid action to protect nature and our remarkable native wildlife from invasives-led extinction, death and destruction.
If you are having trouble submitting a form, please read this guide.
Please fill out the following form and one of our team will be in contact to assist as soon as possible. Please make sure to include any helpful information, such as the device you were using (computer, tablet or mobile phone) and if known, your browser (Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Safari etc)
"*" indicates required fields
Dear Project Team,
[YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.]
I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.
The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.
The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.
This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.
Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.
Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.
Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.
I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.
Dear Project Team,
[YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.]
I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.
The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.
The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.
This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.
Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.
Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.
Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.
I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.
