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Exposed: Pet ant trade a dangerous and costly hazard

An investigation into the online sale of ants has revealed a disturbing global trade that offers up some of the world’s most terrifying and dangerous ants as pets, including red imported fire ants, yellow crazy ants and Australia’s own bull ants and jack jumpers.

“Countries across the world, including Australia, are spending tens of millions of dollars every year battling red imported fire ants and yellow crazy ants, so the thought that people can buy these invasive species online is terrifying,” says Tim Low, a biologist who investigated the trade.

Two of the global traders operate out of Melbourne, offering up ‘beautiful and unique’ Australian queens that ‘we will ship directly to you, where ever you are in the world!’

“Australia has made it illegal to import ants into the country and yet is happy to let traders mail potentially invasive Australian ants overseas,” Mr Low said.

“The export of invasive ants could pose serious biosecurity threats overseas and must be stopped.

“Australia is spending over $750 million just to eradicate red fire ants. It is unconscionable we permit the export of our own problem ants and burden other countries with eradication costs.”

Ant species exported from Australia include a bull ant with fierce stings listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most dangerous ant. Other exported ants include jack jumpers, which are so serious there is a national program to desensitise people to their stings. Meat ants and green tree ants are also mailed abroad and could cause serious environmental problems in other countries.

The online investigation of Australian ant traders was sparked by a recent study of the global ant trade, which revealed sales of 13 of the 19 worst ant invaders listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

This list includes the main species Australia is eradicating – the red imported fire ant, electric ant and yellow crazy ant, plus others of grave concern such as the African big-headed ant and tropical fire ant.

“The global trade in ants should not exist, because the dangers are so grave,” Mr Low said.

“Although Australia bans the importation of ants, we know animal smuggling goes on, and dangerous ants are easier to smuggle in than the illegal reptiles and tarantulas that are regular arrivals. A queen ant, a few workers, and some brood can easily be carried in a small plastic tube or posted through standard mail.

“Invasive ants are major ecosystem engineers and many species form super colonies that can quickly infiltrate entire forests and farms, wreaking havoc on native ecosystems and costing farmers millions in lost income.

“We’ve seen what happens when red imported fire ants and yellow crazy ants get out of control in Queensland and the result is ugly and very expensive to control.”

The Invasive Species Council is calling on the Australian Government to stop the export of all Australian ants.

It also wants Australia to lead efforts to secure a global ban on the foreign trade in ants. Each country has enough native species to gratify pet owners.

Tim Low, a co-founder of the Invasive Species Council and celebrated nature writer, is also behind the new online portal Insect Watch, which takes us into the world of invasive insects and shows Australians how to identify and report possible new insect invaders.

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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.

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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]