Feral pigs were a serious issue in the 1970s in the north but producers were more concerned about the impacts of 1080 poisoning campaigns.
The Register regularly reported on grain and sugar cane crop destruction from feral pigs, including 1200 tonnes of cane lost in the Ingham area.
But in February 1977, graziers, conservationists and the superintendent of stock routes raised concerns that the 1080 campaign to kill dingos was largely to blame for the pig problem.
They believed the dingos kept the pig population down by attacking suckers.
As a result graziers were steering clear of the pig-baiting campaigns with the Thuringowa Shire only attracting five landholders.
Few also participated in a Dalrymple Shire program.
In September to December of 1975 the first large scale pig poisoning program saw 146,000kg of baits, including 91kg of 1080, distributed among 42 shires.
One of the biggest kills from that campaign was in Moura where 105 pigs were counted dead around one dam.
Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
