Featuring special guest, Nicola Toki, CEO of Forest and Bird (NZ).
After our best year yet, we find ourselves at an exciting juncture for nature.
We’ve secured over half a billion of government funding to defend nature from invasive species. We’ve put this mega threat at the centre of political and social conversations.
And we’re moving into an exciting new chapter as Andrew Cox hands the baton to me as interim CEO to lead the charge for a wildlife revival in Australia, hopefully with you.
Whilst uncertainty presides across the globe, the Invasive Species Council is certain we can expect big, positive changes for nature this year on our island of hope.
Both Australia and our many islands have been at the forefront of extinction since European arrival. Bird flu and fire ant disasters hover on the horizon and could be the biggest environmental threats we’ve faced yet. We’ve already made sure governments are taking action. Now, we aim to turn these crises into the biggest opportunities to drive cultural and systemic transformation we need for nature.
That’s why I’m excited to share our upcoming strategy with you at our upcoming confidential briefing.
Please join myself, Richard Swain, Voice of Country lead and our Indigenous Ambassador, President David Rickards, Amber Sprunt and our special guests for an inspiring evening of celebration, success stories and strategy.
We’re delighted to announce our International guest speaker, Nicola Toki, CEO of Forest and Bird (NZ). Nicola is the driving force behind the visionary Predator Free 2050 initiative, which aims to rid the country of introduced pests that threaten its unique wildlife. Find out how she encouraged government, communities, Maori and charity groups to work together towards this epic goal.
The confidential briefing will be held on Zoom.
Please RSVP to Amber Sprunt, Marketing and Development Director on ambers@invasives.org.au by COB Monday 7 April.
You’re also welcome to bring a like-minded plus one with you. In fact, we encourage it.
Our hard work so far, means we’re well placed to champion an ambitious vision for nature, whoever wins this federal election. But stopping invasives-led extinctions will take focus and serious new funding from governments, funding that is leveraged from caring philanthropic people like you.
As the only national advocacy organisation dedicated to stopping the invasive species mega threat, your backing is crucial for nature.
I hope you can join us. Together we can lead a wildlife revival on this island of hope.
Nicola Toki is a prominent conservationist in New Zealand, spearheading efforts toward the ambitious Predator Free 2050 goal to protect their unique wildlife and bring back the dawn chorous. Her extensive experience includes significant leadership roles, notably as the CEO of Forest & Bird, a leading environmental advocacy organization. Additionally, she has had high-profile roles within the Department of Conservation (DoC) for all the country’s threatened species, where she was working to build partnerships and encourage New Zealanders to become involved in the conservation efforts, demonstrating her deep commitment to protecting New Zealand’s natural heritage. A seasoned leader, Nicola’s super power is in building engagement and action through strong partnerships that create positive outcomes. Beyond her leadership roles, Nicola is a familiar face on New Zealand television, where she shares her knowledge and enthusiasm for nature, engaging and educating the public on vital conservation issues.
Toki’s work is frequently confronted by the complex and often contentious realities of conservation. While the need to eliminate introduced predators like feral cats and deer is scientifically clear – these animals devastate native bird populations and fragile ecosystems – implementing control measures sparks intense debate.
The culling of feral cats raises ethical concerns about animal welfare, with some advocating for non-lethal methods. Similarly, deer, while a significant ecological threat, are also a popular hunting resource, creating friction with recreational hunters. Toki navigates these challenges by emphasizing the long-term benefits for native species, engaging in public dialogue, and promoting humane and effective control methods. She strives to find a balance between ecological necessity and societal values, recognizing that successful conservation requires both scientific rigor and community understanding.
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.
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.
