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Australia must rescue Norfolk Island wildlife from dangerous invaders

The Australian Government must ramp up safeguards to protect Norfolk Island’s threatened wildlife from invasive species, a report released today by the Invasive Species Council and Island Conservation warns.

Far from any land mass, hundreds of unique plants and animals that have evolved on Norfolk Island are susceptible to decline when the island’s isolation is breached by human-introduced species.

“Norfolk Island is an ocean jewel highly vulnerable to invasion by dangerous new invaders,” the council’s CEO Andrew Cox said today.

“Many of its species, including the Norfolk Island green parrot, found nowhere else on Earth, are being pushed towards the brink of extinction because of invasive species.

“Rats are the most destructive predator on the island, responsible for the loss of several bird species found nowhere else on Earth. Feral cats are also a major threat to the island’s wildlife.

“Weeds are suppressing and eliminating native plants, reducing the number of nesting hollows available to owls and the island’s iconic green parrots.

“The Argentine ant – a recent arrival on the island – will cause serious harm if it is allowed to spread across the island, due to its aggression and need for protein.”

With the island now in transition from being self-governed to one governed by Australia the Invasive Species Council is calling on the federal government to implement an exemplary biosecurity system.

“With its new biosecurity tools, the Australian Government has the opportunity to stop the flow of new invaders and secure a future for Norfolk’s unique wildlife,” Mr Cox said.

The Invasive Species Council and Island Conservation have developed 25 recommendations to set Norfolk Island on that path. They include analysing risks and the pathways of new species arrivals, declaring Norfolk a biosecurity zone and eradicating harmful invaders.

“These reforms represent an exciting opportunity to reverse the decline of many Norfolk species, save on large amounts of funding for on-ground conservation, and improve the island’s appeal as a nature tourism destination.”

The report, Norfolk Island: Protecting an Ocean Jewel, was launched in Melbourne this week at the annual general meeting of the Invasive Species Council, where Dr Ray Nias delivered a keynote talk about island conservation in Australia and the southwest Pacific.

“A new biosecurity regime that provides exemplary protection for the island would reset the future for this incredible ocean jewel and its island life,” Mr Cox said.

Funding for this work was provided by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation (Eldon & Anne Foote Trust Donor Advised Program 2016) and the Packard Foundation.

For comment

Invasive Species Council: CEO Andrew Cox – 0438 588 040.
Island Conservation: southwest Pacific director, Dr Ray Nias – 0414 917 297.

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Cruise ships are one of several pathways by which new invasive species can reach Norfolk Island. Photo: Thomas Huxley | CC BY-ND 2.0
Norfolk Island conservation project
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Fact sheet series: Native Plant Communities of Norfolk Island

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Your support to protect critically endangered and vulnerable species from extinction is vital. Together, we can ensure governments prioritise action on invasive species and protect our wildlife and iconic places.

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.

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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.

Kind regards,
[Your name]
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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.

Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your email address]
[Your postcode]