Alpha and Clermont district landholders form clusters to combat rising feral pig numbers

The rise in pig population in the Alpha and Clermont districts already worries some landholders concerned about the role they could play in the event of a foot and mouth disease outbreak.

Landholders have been engaged through workshops to establish cluster groups in three areas.

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The aim of the cluster is to enhance feral pig control activities in the Isaac and Barcaldine regional Councils within the Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM region.

NQ Dry Tropics has received assistance through the jointly funded federal and state disaster recovery funding arrangements: Environmental Recovery Package: Weeds and Pest Management Program to undertake feral pig management with local governments.

Across two years, four three-day shoots would be conducted across an area of 750,000 hectares.

NQ Dry Tropics regional pest management group coordinator Thijs Krugers said significant rainfall in the past 12 months has caused an increase in feral pig numbers in the Isaac and Barcaldine regions due to increased availability of food and water.

"Numbers are exploding so control measures have become critical," Mr Krugers said.

"Cluster groups enable neighbours to team up to share the cost of professional eradication services. Local councils act as trustee, coordinate the control program and manage the administration.

"Feral pigs cause significant agricultural and environmental damage and pose a biosecurity risk for the spread of diseases such as Foot and Mouth disease, African swine fever, and Japanese encephalitis virus."

NQ Dry Tropics facilitates and coordinates the development of syndicates for feral pig management in the Burdekin Dry Tropics region through the Regional Pest Management Group network, of which Isaac and Barcaldine regional councils are members.

Isaac Regional Council director of planning, environment and community services Dan Wagner said effective management of feral pigs required collaborative stakeholder planning and implementation.

"The benefits of cluster-based approaches to feral pig management have been demonstrated in other regions and is supported and recommended at a national level by the National Feral Pig Action Plan," Mr Wagner said.

"They guide where and when aerial control operations will take place.

"They also help in identifying feral pig whereabouts and movements and tracking the cost of infrastructure damage and repair as a result of feral pigs."

The number and locations of culled feral pigs will be recorded for reporting and evaluated.