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Legacy on the line: SA’s historic feral deer and cat eradication programs need federal funding to succeed

Ahead of the federal election, the Invasive Species Council, Livestock SA and Conservation Council SA are calling on all parties to seize a landmark opportunity to back 2 globally significant invasive species eradication programs in South Australia – and cement a conservation legacy for the nation.

South Australia is leading the charge against some of the country’s worst invasive threats, but without urgent federal support, 2 precedent-setting programs – one targeting feral cats on Kangaroo Island and one aiming to eradicate feral deer across the state – are at risk of stalling.

‘These are not just local projects. They are national roadmaps – showing what’s possible when ambition, expertise, funding and community support come together,’ Invasive Species Council CEO Jack Gough said. 

‘Ahead of the election we’re calling on all parties to commit federal funding of $2 million to back in the state’s ambitious feral deer eradication program and $6.2 million over 3 years, including an urgent $1.93 million injection for a winter blitz this year, to complete the Dudley Peninsula cat eradication on Kangaroo Island.

‘This is an opportunity for parties to show voters that they are serious about bold, effective environmental action that sets the bar for invasive species management across the country.

‘If we can’t succeed on Kangaroo Island or in South Australia – with proven programs, public support, and political will – then where can we? This is a line-in-the-sand moment for national invasive species action.

Travis Tobin, CEO of Livestock SA said: ‘Feral deer are trashing, trampling and polluting landscapes across the state, costing farmers millions in lost production and infrastructure damage and threatening our environment.

‘South Australia’s ambitious feral deer eradication program is on track for success, having already removed over 21,000 animals in 2 years, but without adequate funding the program risks losing momentum.

‘A co-investment of $2 million from the Federal government would ensure this nation-leading program stays on track.

‘Diseases carried by feral cats cost the Kangaroo Island economy approximately $10 million per year through unborn lamb losses and sheepmeat sales.’

Kirsty Bevan, CEO of the Conservation Council of SA said: ‘The feral cat eradication program on Kangaroo Island’s Dudley Peninsula is on track to become the largest successful eradication on a populated island anywhere in the world – but without an urgent funding injection all the good work to date could be lost.

‘Feral cats are devastating Kangaroo Island’s iconic native species like the Kangaroo Island Dunnart, Southern Brown Bandicoot, Western Whipbird and Bassian Thrush. 

‘They are a direct risk to the endangered Australian sea lion and little penguin populations which have already suffered alarming declines.

‘Since the program began in 2020, over 1,600 feral cats have been removed. Only around 150 remain.

‘We’re tantalisingly close to success – but we’re running out of time. We know eradication is possible, cost-effective, science-driven, and backed by a passionate community. 

‘It’s time to step up with federal funding to get the job done.’

Media inquiries: (02) 8006 5004

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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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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]


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]