The Invasive Species Council says the discovery of fire ant nests at a Defence base in Cabarlah, north of Toowoomba, is a stark reminder that only full eradication of fire ants can stop outlier outbreaks from occurring.
The Invasive Species Council is calling on the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council to urgently develop a dedicated rapid response plan for the polyphagous shot-hole borer, warning Brisbane’s iconic urban trees could be highly vulnerable if the destructive invasive pest arrives in the state.
New research has revealed nearly half of Sydney’s urban trees could be vulnerable to one of the world’s most destructive invasive species – the polyphagous shot-hole borer – prompting urgent calls for surveillance and preparedness as it proliferates in the west.
You might think of the bugs in your backyard – or the intruders in your home – as pests. But for Australia’s native insects, they are vital workers, playing an essential role in pollination, nutrient cycling and natural pest control.
From 17–23 November, Australians are being urged to step outside, look closer, and discover the secret world beneath their feet during Bugs in My Backyard Week – a brand-new national event encouraging families, schools and nature lovers to photograph and record the mini-beasts living all around them.
Australia’s newest citizen-science project, Bug Hunt Australia, has received one of the nation’s highest honours for nature – the Gold Tier Award ($50,000) at the 2025 Australian Geographic Society Awards for Nature.
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.
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.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed significant new investment in Queensland’s biosecurity system in today’s state budget.
The Invasive Species Council is warning the decision to end efforts to eradicate the polyphagous shot-hole borer in Western Australia could put the rest of the country at risk.
The Invasive Species Council is warning that the latest detection of fire ants on the Sunshine Coast is its most significant yet and a signal that the area might be harbouring many more undetected nests.
The Invasive Species Council has expressed disappointment that major parties failed to commit to critical yellow crazy ant funding before voting commenced – warning that years of hard work and millions of dollars could be lost without urgent action.
Australian households could be slugged with a $581 million annual pesticide bill if fire ant eradication efforts fail, a new report by the Australia Institute has revealed.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the Queensland government’s $24 million injection to boost fire ant suppression.
The Invasive Species Council says the discovery of fire ant nests at a Defence base in Cabarlah, north of Toowoomba, is a stark reminder that only full eradication of fire ants can stop outlier outbreaks from occurring.
The Invasive Species Council is calling on the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council to urgently develop a dedicated rapid response plan for the polyphagous shot-hole borer, warning Brisbane’s iconic urban trees could be highly vulnerable if the destructive invasive pest arrives in the state.
New research has revealed nearly half of Sydney’s urban trees could be vulnerable to one of the world’s most destructive invasive species – the polyphagous shot-hole borer – prompting urgent calls for surveillance and preparedness as it proliferates in the west.
You might think of the bugs in your backyard – or the intruders in your home – as pests. But for Australia’s native insects, they are vital workers, playing an essential role in pollination, nutrient cycling and natural pest control.
From 17–23 November, Australians are being urged to step outside, look closer, and discover the secret world beneath their feet during Bugs in My Backyard Week – a brand-new national event encouraging families, schools and nature lovers to photograph and record the mini-beasts living all around them.
Australia’s newest citizen-science project, Bug Hunt Australia, has received one of the nation’s highest honours for nature – the Gold Tier Award ($50,000) at the 2025 Australian Geographic Society Awards for Nature.
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.
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.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed significant new investment in Queensland’s biosecurity system in today’s state budget.
The Invasive Species Council is warning the decision to end efforts to eradicate the polyphagous shot-hole borer in Western Australia could put the rest of the country at risk.
The Invasive Species Council is warning that the latest detection of fire ants on the Sunshine Coast is its most significant yet and a signal that the area might be harbouring many more undetected nests.
The Invasive Species Council has expressed disappointment that major parties failed to commit to critical yellow crazy ant funding before voting commenced – warning that years of hard work and millions of dollars could be lost without urgent action.
Australian households could be slugged with a $581 million annual pesticide bill if fire ant eradication efforts fail, a new report by the Australia Institute has revealed.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the Queensland government’s $24 million injection to boost fire ant suppression.
The Invasive Species Council says the discovery of fire ant nests at a Defence base in Cabarlah, north of Toowoomba, is a stark reminder that only full eradication of fire ants can stop outlier outbreaks from occurring.
The Invasive Species Council is calling on the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council to urgently develop a dedicated rapid response plan for the polyphagous shot-hole borer, warning Brisbane’s iconic urban trees could be highly vulnerable if the destructive invasive pest arrives in the state.
New research has revealed nearly half of Sydney’s urban trees could be vulnerable to one of the world’s most destructive invasive species – the polyphagous shot-hole borer – prompting urgent calls for surveillance and preparedness as it proliferates in the west.
You might think of the bugs in your backyard – or the intruders in your home – as pests. But for Australia’s native insects, they are vital workers, playing an essential role in pollination, nutrient cycling and natural pest control.
From 17–23 November, Australians are being urged to step outside, look closer, and discover the secret world beneath their feet during Bugs in My Backyard Week – a brand-new national event encouraging families, schools and nature lovers to photograph and record the mini-beasts living all around them.
Australia’s newest citizen-science project, Bug Hunt Australia, has received one of the nation’s highest honours for nature – the Gold Tier Award ($50,000) at the 2025 Australian Geographic Society Awards for Nature.
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.
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.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed significant new investment in Queensland’s biosecurity system in today’s state budget.
The Invasive Species Council is warning the decision to end efforts to eradicate the polyphagous shot-hole borer in Western Australia could put the rest of the country at risk.
The Invasive Species Council is warning that the latest detection of fire ants on the Sunshine Coast is its most significant yet and a signal that the area might be harbouring many more undetected nests.
The Invasive Species Council has expressed disappointment that major parties failed to commit to critical yellow crazy ant funding before voting commenced – warning that years of hard work and millions of dollars could be lost without urgent action.
Australian households could be slugged with a $581 million annual pesticide bill if fire ant eradication efforts fail, a new report by the Australia Institute has revealed.
The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the Queensland government’s $24 million injection to boost fire ant suppression.
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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.
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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)
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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.
