FERAL ANIMAL MANAGEMENT SUCCESS
Council’s meeting this week heard of the success of feral animal baiting programs.
The September Regional Coordinated Baiting Campaign has now been completed with 77 landowners particpating throughout the South Burnett. A total of 2,209 kiograms of meat was injected with 1080 resulting in 3854 wild dog baits and 2492 pig baits distributed over 52150 hectares and 205 different land parcels.
The Portfolio Cr Scott Henschen’s report to Council stated, “Not only does a coordinated program provide a greater degree of control across a more extensive area for both pigs and wild dogs, there are additional positive environmental benefits achieved through the control of feral cats and foxes that wreak havoc on our unquie native wildlife.”
The Portoflio report commented that landowners were very apprecative of Council support to provide free meat for baits. “The strategy to increase particpation through the provision of free meat and promoting awarness of the campaign through print, radio and roadside signage forms part of Council’s adopted Emergency Response Plan for the sustained supression of regional feral pig populations.”
Cr Henschen stressed that controlling feral animal populations was crucial to local and regional biosecurity of farm animals. He also referred to the success of private aerial progams. “Council is looking into a presentation on aerial control in December.”
