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South Australia joins fire ant fight with $17 million commitment

Action needed to stop a feral future for Tasmania

The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the South Australian government’s commitment today to provide $17 million until 2027 towards the war on fire ants in south-east Queensland.

South Australia’s commitment means that almost all states and territories have now locked in their share of funding for the current National Fire Ant Eradication Program, with only Western Australia yet to commit to their full share.

‘Almost all of Australia is at extreme risk of a deadly fire ant invasion if they are not eradicated in south-east Queensland,’ said Reece Pianta, Advocacy Manager with the Invasive Species Council.

‘It is essential that all governments provide the funding needed to win this fire ant war, so we welcome the South Australian government’s important commitment today.’

‘Fire ants are one of the world’s worst super pests and, if they are allowed to spread across the continent, their economic impact will be greater than cane toads, rabbits, feral cats and foxes combined.

‘They will kill koalas, platypus and turtles and could send some native animals extinct.’

‘They will devastate Australia’s agriculture, cost our economy billions annually and we could see hundreds of thousands of extra medical visits every year as they sting Australians at the park or in the backyard.’

‘Eradication is still possible, but only if Australia’s state and federal governments ensure that the level of resources meets the needs on the ground.

The South Australian announcement follows evidence from a range of experts and stakeholders to the Senate inquiry into fire ants in Australia that the current level of funding from governments is not enough to eradicate the pest.

The former Inspector General of Biosecurity, Helen Scott-Orr, told the inquiry that her strategic review of the program in 2021 had recommended between $200 and $300 million annually would be required over the next 10 years or Australia would face at least a $2 billion cost per year from fire ants forever.

The Invasive Species Council is calling for a rapid review of funding levels for the eradication program and several vital changes to the fire ant response including:

  1. Establishment of a new independent fire ant eradication authority
  2. Increased funding over the next decade to achieve full eradication
  3. Improved transparency and stakeholder inclusion in program oversight
  4. A scaled up public awareness campaign to mobilise the community
  5. Greater investment in fire ant population suppression in Queensland


Media inquiries: (02) 8006 5004

Additional materials:

The Invasive Species Council submission to the senate inquiry into fire ants in Australia is available here.

Images, maps and other fire ant multimedia to accompany this story are available here.

Background information on fire ants:

  • Fire ants are dark reddish-brown with a darker black-brown abdomen and range in size from two to six millimetres long. Their ant nests are distinctive mounds of loose, crumbly or fluffy-looking soil with a honeycomb appearance, up to 40 centimetres high, with no obvious entrance holes.
  • Red imported fire ants can damage electrical and agricultural equipment, sting people, pets and livestock, kill native plants and animals, and damage ecosystems beyond repair.
  • Those who breach the emergency biosecurity order could face significant penalties with fines for breaches reaching up to $1.1 million for an individual and up to $2.2 million for a corporation.
  • A ten-year eradication program has been developed, with $593 million required in the first 4 years.
  • The 2021 National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program strategic review estimated that at least $200 to $300 million per year will be required for ongoing eradication efforts to achieve eradication by 2032.
  • Fire ants can be lethal to humans, are expected to have a $2 billion per year impact on Australia’s economy if they get out of control, will devastate wildlife, cut agricultural output by up to 40% and may cause up to 650,000 extra medical appointments each year.
  • Fire ants can form rafts during flood events, stowaway in freight or soil, or spread by Queen ant flights of around 5 km per year (and up to 30 km in favourable conditions).
  • Fire ants came into Australia in the late 90s in freight from the United States, they were found in 2001. Fire ants are originally from South America.
  • Fire ants have spread across most of the southern United States, and are spreading in China at a rate of about 80 km per year. Australia has managed to contain fire ants in south east Queensland since 2001 however under-resourcing has prevented successful eradication.

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Leaked government documents reveal fire ant funding failure that puts eradication plans at risk
Pandemic pet boom escalates wildlife kills

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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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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,
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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]