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Report: Overhaul of NSW feral animal control needed

Leading conservation organisations are urging the NSW Government to fully implement the recommendations of the NSW Natural Resources Commission’s pest animal management review, which was released today.

The groups strongly endorse the independent review’s recommendation that feral deer now be declared a pest species and managed appropriately. Currently deer are managed as “game” and government policies are assisting their spread.

“Until now the NSW Government has been unwilling to act decisively on the growing threats of expanding populations of feral deer,” Invasive Species Council CEO Andrew Cox said today.

“Feral animals such as foxes, cats, deer, carp and pigs are the silent killers of NSW wildlife. As numbers of ferals increase they wipe out populations of rock wallabies, bandicoots, native fish and endangered plants. New invasive species are set to exacerbate these pressures.

“This review is a credible, evidence-based response to a complex issue. It balances environmental and agricultural needs with animal welfare requirements. The NSW NRC report confirms an already compelling case for change in NSW feral animal management.”

Key findings 

  • The impact of pest species is growing despite 100 years of control efforts.
  • The risk of new pest animal incursions is rising with rapidly growing global trade.
  • $170 million a year is spent to control ferals, including rabbits, carp, pigs, foxes, wild dogs, goats and birds.
  • Feral deer have caused nine fatalities and 100 collisions with trains in the Illawarra region.

Key recommendations 

  • Strong action against feral deer, which are “recognised as the most important emerging pest animal threat”.
  • Strong action against feral horses, including aerial and ground culling.
  • Stronger controls on cat ownership including mandatory desexing, annual cat licences, declaration of containment areas and licencing for cat breeders.
  • Prevention and eradication of new incursions must become government priorities
  • Funding for more research.
  • Better coordination between government agencies, and between government agencies and private landholders.

Nature Conservation Council of NSW CEO Kate Smolski said: “We are pleased to see pest declaration proposed for feral deer and feral cats, which pose a serious and increasing threat to our native wildlife and bushland.

“We also welcome the proposal to use the whole suit of options for control of feral horse populations that are damaging alpine and sub-alpine environments in Kosciuszko National Park.

“The report increases pressure on the government to conclude its interminable consultation on feral horse control and to act decisively to protect our fragile alpine ecosystems.”

CEO of the National Parks Association of NSW Kevin Evans said: “The NRC has comprehensively debunked the perception that the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is not pulling its weight.

“NPWS accounts for more than one third of all government-funded pest activities. There is no better neighbour than the NPWS when it comes to pest control.

“Importantly, the NRC found that hunting is the major problem rather than a solution to our feral animal problems. Hunting fails to reduce deer numbers and impedes effective control actions.

“The report also highlights the importance of dingoes for conservation as our largest predator, and notes the potential for rewilding to contribute to healthy ecosystems. NPA plans to further investigate this potential.

“To make a real difference on feral animals, we will need to see delivery of meaningful action on the ground. Government leadership and support from landholders and the wider community will also be key.”

The draft report is open for comment for six weeks until 18 May after which final recommendations will be provided to the NSW Premier in June.

Contact

  • Andrew Cox, CEO Invasive Species Council on 0438 588 040
  • James Tremain, Communications Manager Nature Conservation Council of NSW  on 0419 272 254
  • Kevin Evans, CEO National Parks Association of NSW on 0457 797 977

More info

Related Content

24 fold increase in annual feral horse removals gives Kosciuszko’s native animals a chance
Counting horses in Kosciuszko: a critique of the ‘independent’ survey
Feral Deer Control: A Strategy for Tasmania

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  • James Trezise, Conservation Director
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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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About Us

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]