Fire ant funding failure puts Australia at risk
13 July, 2023
Invasive Species Council expresses alarm after federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt today confirmed no decision on increased funding for fire ant eradication.
Invasive Species Council expresses alarm after federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt today confirmed no decision on increased funding for fire ant eradication.
Ahead of a crucial meeting of federal, state and territory agricultural ministers in Perth tomorrow, our analysis indicates ministers will agree to an underfunded fire ant eradication program.
This highly critical report should be a wake-up call for the Queensland government. Invasive species action has been ad-hoc and underfunded for too long.
An alliance of environment, agriculture, industry and land management groups are calling for urgent action on Australia’s fire ant outbreak.
Invasive Species Council CEO Andrew Cox reflects on a recent visit to the first ever outbreak of red fire ants on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).
A commitment to tackle a major invasive ant risk in the Townsville and Cairns regions has been locked in by the Albanese Government in the federal budget.
Our breakdown of the very worst and very best parts of the country’s biggest environment report in five years.
In August 2021, a member of the public noticed some troubling symptoms on their maple tree in East Fremantle.
Varroa mites were detected in two of six sentinel hives at the Port of Newcastle, NSW, on 22 June. As of the latest official update on 27 July, there are now 43 known infested premises across central-eastern and north-eastern NSW.
A new report from Frontier Economics warns that not controlling the impacts of feral deer in Victoria could cost the community $2.2 billion.
Yellow crazy ants are one of the world’s worst invasive species. The federal election result could close the door on the invasive ants in northern Queensland.
The 2022 federal election has been labelled a “greenslide”, with Australians turning out to vote for action on climate change and the environment.
Today’s announcement by Labor to dedicate $24.8 million to tackle yellow crazy ant infestations in Cairns and Townsville regions if it wins the next federal election would bring much needed relief to northern Queensland from this destructive invasive pest.
The Coalition’s announcement of $3 million for the next 12 months of the yellow crazy eradication program is welcome, as federal funding for the program will run out in June.
Cat-lover or not, none of us can escape the devastating impacts feral and pet cats are having on Australia’s wildlife.
Invasive Species Council expresses alarm after federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt today confirmed no decision on increased funding for fire ant eradication.
Ahead of a crucial meeting of federal, state and territory agricultural ministers in Perth tomorrow, our analysis indicates ministers will agree to an underfunded fire ant eradication program.
This highly critical report should be a wake-up call for the Queensland government. Invasive species action has been ad-hoc and underfunded for too long.
An alliance of environment, agriculture, industry and land management groups are calling for urgent action on Australia’s fire ant outbreak.
Invasive Species Council CEO Andrew Cox reflects on a recent visit to the first ever outbreak of red fire ants on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).
A commitment to tackle a major invasive ant risk in the Townsville and Cairns regions has been locked in by the Albanese Government in the federal budget.
Our breakdown of the very worst and very best parts of the country’s biggest environment report in five years.
In August 2021, a member of the public noticed some troubling symptoms on their maple tree in East Fremantle.
Varroa mites were detected in two of six sentinel hives at the Port of Newcastle, NSW, on 22 June. As of the latest official update on 27 July, there are now 43 known infested premises across central-eastern and north-eastern NSW.
A new report from Frontier Economics warns that not controlling the impacts of feral deer in Victoria could cost the community $2.2 billion.
Yellow crazy ants are one of the world’s worst invasive species. The federal election result could close the door on the invasive ants in northern Queensland.
The 2022 federal election has been labelled a “greenslide”, with Australians turning out to vote for action on climate change and the environment.
Today’s announcement by Labor to dedicate $24.8 million to tackle yellow crazy ant infestations in Cairns and Townsville regions if it wins the next federal election would bring much needed relief to northern Queensland from this destructive invasive pest.
The Coalition’s announcement of $3 million for the next 12 months of the yellow crazy eradication program is welcome, as federal funding for the program will run out in June.
Cat-lover or not, none of us can escape the devastating impacts feral and pet cats are having on Australia’s wildlife.
Invasive Species Council expresses alarm after federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt today confirmed no decision on increased funding for fire ant eradication.
Ahead of a crucial meeting of federal, state and territory agricultural ministers in Perth tomorrow, our analysis indicates ministers will agree to an underfunded fire ant eradication program.
This highly critical report should be a wake-up call for the Queensland government. Invasive species action has been ad-hoc and underfunded for too long.
An alliance of environment, agriculture, industry and land management groups are calling for urgent action on Australia’s fire ant outbreak.
Invasive Species Council CEO Andrew Cox reflects on a recent visit to the first ever outbreak of red fire ants on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island).
A commitment to tackle a major invasive ant risk in the Townsville and Cairns regions has been locked in by the Albanese Government in the federal budget.
Our breakdown of the very worst and very best parts of the country’s biggest environment report in five years.
In August 2021, a member of the public noticed some troubling symptoms on their maple tree in East Fremantle.
Varroa mites were detected in two of six sentinel hives at the Port of Newcastle, NSW, on 22 June. As of the latest official update on 27 July, there are now 43 known infested premises across central-eastern and north-eastern NSW.
A new report from Frontier Economics warns that not controlling the impacts of feral deer in Victoria could cost the community $2.2 billion.
Yellow crazy ants are one of the world’s worst invasive species. The federal election result could close the door on the invasive ants in northern Queensland.
The 2022 federal election has been labelled a “greenslide”, with Australians turning out to vote for action on climate change and the environment.
Today’s announcement by Labor to dedicate $24.8 million to tackle yellow crazy ant infestations in Cairns and Townsville regions if it wins the next federal election would bring much needed relief to northern Queensland from this destructive invasive pest.
The Coalition’s announcement of $3 million for the next 12 months of the yellow crazy eradication program is welcome, as federal funding for the program will run out in June.
Cat-lover or not, none of us can escape the devastating impacts feral and pet cats are having on Australia’s wildlife.
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The Invasive Species Council was formed in 2002 to seek stronger laws, policies and programs to protect nature from harmful pests, weeds and diseases.
The Invasive Species Council acknowledges the Traditional Custodians throughout Australia and their connections to land and sea. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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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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.