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Queensland faces economic and ecological disaster without yellow crazy ant funding

A powerful coalition of Queensland industry heavy hitters, farmers, councils and environment groups have made a desperate plea to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk not to abandon the Wet Tropics yellow crazy ant eradication program.

They will be making a joint statement today at 1pm:

  • Date and time: Wednesday 13 February 2019 at 1pm.
  • Location: The end of Wiseman Road, Wiseman Road Reserve, Edmonton – about 25 minutes south of Cairns.

Funding from the Australian and Queensland governments has allowed the Wet Tropics Management Authority to drastically reduce yellow crazy ant numbers in the Wet Tropics, but a commitment of another $6 million a year over seven years is needed to finish the job.

Yellow crazy ants are on the list of 100 of the world’s worst invasive species.

“Yellow crazy ants must be stopped from spreading throughout the Wet Tropics rainforests and the forests, woodlands and grasslands of northern and eastern Australia,” Invasive Species Council CEO Andrew Cox said today in an open letter signed by industry and community leaders.

“We have too much to lose, including ground-nesting birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs and insects, along with impacts on tourism, residential areas, cropping industries and beyond.”

The open letter calls on the Prime Minister and the Queensland Premier to jointly fund the program before momentum and good staff are lost over the coming months.

“Seven more years of funding from 1 July 2019 is needed to finish the job or yellow crazy ants will return to former levels and have a catastrophic impact on the region,” Mr Cox said.

An independent review by Melbourne University found the invasive ants are still eradicable and their preliminary analysis shows that without the program the socio-economic costs alone would exceed $700 million over the next seven years.

Project manager with Kenfrost Homes, Adam Gowlett, warned the Cairns housing market faces devastating impacts if the yellow crazy ant eradication program is not fully funded.

“If there was no eradication program yellow crazy ants would have a devastating impact on housing development in Cairns,” he said. “People simply wouldn’t want to move their families into an area where there is the risk of yellow crazy ants.”

Cane farmer and long-term yellow crazy ant campaigner Frank Teodo praised the good work so far.

“Recent results from the current Yellow Crazy Ant Eradication Program have been spectacular. The methodology has been fine-tuned and the highly trained staff are having unparalleled success.”

Karl Kuhle, Seawalker Australia CEO holds fears for future environmental impacts.

“If the ants are uncontrolled at Edmonton, one solid flood through the streams that feed Wrights Creek will float yellow crazy ants right down to the Reef Fleet Terminal, Esplanade Park and Lagoon Swimming Pool, onto Admiralty Island and across to East Trinity. Who will stop them then?”

Roz Walden Director, Cairns and Far North Environment Centre warned of ecological disaster if state and federal governments pulled the pin on the eradication program. “If we are to have any chance of saving the Wet Tropics from these highly invasive ants, we must do all we can now.”

More info

Download the open letter >>

Related Content

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LNP moves on yellow crazy ants, but long-term funding needed from all parties
Yellow crazy ants

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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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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.

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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]