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Fight against invasive rainforest killing ants acknowledged with awards

Small animals like this gecko face a cruel death in areas invaded by yellow crazy ants.
Small animals like this gecko face a cruel death in areas invaded by yellow crazy ants.

Four North Queensland champions have been acknowledged with Froggatt Awards for their exceptional efforts in raising awareness about the threat of yellow crazy ants and helping to eradicate the ant from the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

The awards were presented to Lucy Karger from the Wet Tropics Management Authority, Edmonton cane farmer Frank Teodo, James Cook University’s Dr Lori Lach and Cairns Post journalist Daniel Bateman by Invasive Species Council CEO Andrew Cox in Cairns today.

“Without the tireless efforts of Lucy, Frank, Lori and Daniel, few people would appreciate the danger posed by this highly invasive and environmentally destructive ant from South-East Asia,” Mr Cox said.

“Yellow crazy ants have a devastating impact on wildlife, killing and consuming small animals, frogs, lizards and even bird chicks in areas where the ants have become established.”

One of the award winners, Lucy Karger from the Wet Tropics Management Authority, has coordinated baiting for yellow crazy ants since 2013 across 800 hectares around Edmonton, south of Cairns, and 30 hectares at Russett Park near Kuranda.

The $2 million project was funded by a grant from the Australian Government’s Department of Environment.

“Through baiting we have reduced the number of ants overall and eliminated yellow crazy ants from some of the smaller sites. Ongoing monitoring has taught us a lot about the best timing and methods to use in controlling yellow crazy ants in our region,” Ms Karger said today.

“We currently have funding to continue baiting until the end of 2016. If we do not secure ongoing funding we will lose the gains we have made and yellow crazy ants will expand into new areas with devastating impacts.

“We have had positive discussions with all levels of government, but are concerned that no concrete commitments have been made to date.

“Eliminating these invasive ants from the region is vitally important if we want to protect the unique character and biodiversity of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and surrounding land.”

The Froggatt Awards are given to those who have made a major contribution to protecting Australia’s native plants and animals, ecosystems and people from dangerous new invasive species.

The awards are named in honour of Australian entomologist Walter Froggatt, who, when the cane toad was released into Australia in the 1930s to control beetle infestations in the sugar cane industry, was a lone voice, lobbying the federal government to exercise caution.

The Invasive Species Council is a not-for-profit organisation that campaigns for stronger laws, policies and programs to keep the Australian environment safe from new weeds, feral animals and other invaders.

Andrew Cox and Lucy Karger will be available for interview in Cairns on Friday 29 January by appointment.

Contact

  • Andrew Cox on 0438 588 040.

More info

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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.

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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]