State Agriculture Minister Bill Byrne has advised north Queensland landholders concerned about the ability of feral pigs to spread the Panama TR4 virus they have the capacity to acquire category D weapons – pump action shotguns and rifles – to up the ante themselves.
He was speaking in the wake of a call by opposition spokesman Dale Last for the government to urgently assist with existing eradication measures and take a lead role in coordination.
Mr Last said a recent meeting of growers in the region had specifically asked him to address the issue in parliament.
“Banana growers and Biosecurity Queensland staff are doing their best to contain the latest outbreak, but one has to question the effectiveness of their efforts when we have thousands of feral pigs roaming around the area,” he said. “For the sake of our banana industry this issue needs to be addressed and it needs to happen now.”
He described the current approach as “ad hoc” and said “given the scale, this needs coordinating at a much higher level”.
Mr Byrne said the government had committed some $24m to protecting the banana industry since the initial TR4 detection but said the management of feral animals was first and foremost the responsibility of landholders with the assistance of the local council.
He said part of the government’s biosecurity response had involved the construction of exclusion fencing to block animal movements, but Mr Last said these were cost prohibitive in hilly terrain.
“This is rainforest country and aerial control is limited too.
“You can’t fault the Biosecurity Queensland response but expecting weekend warriors to manage this is hugely worrying to growers.”
He understood the Cassowary Coast council had 18 traps and that DAF have produced a guide to landholders on how to trap pigs, but said much more was needed.
“This is a task beyond the capacity of local pig hunters and a few banana growers.
“Given that the gestation period for a pig is around four months, this is not something that can be done sporadically.
“There is a need for a well organised and funded program to be initiated and I am calling on the agriculture minister to step up to the plate and urgently implement an ongoing program aimed at eradicating this pest.”
Mr Byrne said Queensland legislation meant there were a number of tools available in terms of trapping and poisoning programs, and firearms, “particularly the capacity for landholders to acquire Category D weapons for the purpose of feral animal removal”.
He shifted the focus to the federal government, saying it must be recognised that a major influence in the area was a population of feral pigs at the Department of Defence’s Tully Training Area.
“I am very concerned about the large number of feral pigs known to inhabit the training area,” he said.
“In the weeks after the initial detection in March 2015 I wrote to the Minister for Defence raising the issue and the significant risk posed in terms of disease spread.
“I sought urgent assurances that the Department of Defence had allocated appropriate funds and resources to pig control on its property.
“Perhaps Mr Last would like to ask his federal counterparts what they are doing to eliminate the feral pig population on Commonwealth land.”
Keen to give the impression of being on the front foot over the issue, Australia Banana Growers Council CEO, Jim Pekin said a lot had happened since Mr Last made his call.
“We have been asking for this too and we’re working up a coordinated plan to do feral pig management properly,” he said.
A meeting was expected on Monday afternoon with a representative of the Invasive Plants and Animals committee, and Mr Pekin said they had talked with Cane Productivity Services and the mayor and CEO of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council.
“It’s a matter of working through things that are a bit complex,” he said.
“People are doing good work, such as the Babinda-Innisfail Cane Growers, who employ a person to inform people on strategies, but that doesn’t encompass all areas or all industries.
“That’s no fault of theirs.”
Mr Pekin said the issue was being progressed but was at a preliminary stage, and said they wouldn’t be inventing the wheel.
The hidden cost behind the immediate biosecurity cost to the $600m industry, from the loss of 400 B-double trucks backloading freight and groceries into north Queensland each week, was also noted by Mr Last.
“It means that if the banana industry in north Queensland is wiped out, freight charges on everyday grocery items will skyrocket which will be subsequently passed on to the customers.
“The question of whether TR4 can be eradicated is a difficult one.
“Whilst I appreciate that banana growers and Biosecurity Queensland are doing everything they can to prevent the spread of this soil borne disease, the longer term ramifications are unknown.”