Giru growers mobilise to control feral pigs

NQ Dry Tropics Senior Project Officer Shakira Todd and Bren Fuller, Whitsunday Shire Council during a presentation at a shed meeting in Giru to coordinate feral pig control.

Queensland’s estimated three to six million feral pigs cost the agricultural industry around $80 million per year.

The majority are found in the State’s north, and impact cane farmers through crop damage, weed spread, soil erosion, and damage to infrastructure such as irrigation, fencing and dams.

Pigs also spread disease, prey on sea turtle eggs and damage wetlands by increasing water turbidity and destroying native riparian vegetation.

Rather than tackle the problem on their own, more and more landholders are pooling resources with neighbouring properties to form “cluster groups” that strategically tackle pigs at a catchment scale.

In 2021-2022, NQ Dry Tropics supported more than 30 Giru landholders to coordinate feral pig control, resulting in cost savings and more effective pig management across a wider area.

The Restoration Of The Ramsar Wetlands Of Bowling Green Bay project is funded by the Australian Government’s Environment Restoration Fund.