Feral animal project receives fund boost

The Lower Blackwood Land Conservation District Committee’s focus on feral animals is set to continue with the approval of a $217,551 grant as part of the State Government’s ongoing Feral Cat Management Program grants to deal with the menace within the Scott Coastal Plain (SCP).

The LCDC will work with the Lower Blackwood Vertebrate Pest Management Group (LBVPMG) to carry out a seasonal baiting and trapping program over a 2.5 year project period, and will also be putting into place a monitoring program to collect and evaluate data on population and impacts.

The grant comes on the back of the LCDC’s recently completed multi-year Feral Pig Project which aimed to address the growing menace of feral pigs on the Scott River Coastal Plain which pose a very real serious threat to both the biodiversity and cultural values of the SCP.

Project Officer, Jeff John said the results demonstrated that monitoring and trapping is effective, and needed.

“The need to secure more funding for on-going work is critical,” he said.

“Funding needs to include the wider Augusta Margaret River Shire as significant feral pig damage sightings are now reported on farm land in Warner Glen Nillup.

“Pigs don’t take a holiday over the wet season. This combined with pigs breeding twice a year makes the move further north into the shire inevitable without further action.”

The multi-year Feral Pigs in Focus project has supported the LBVPMG to work collaboratively with landholders, plantation companies, DBCA, DPIRD, Traditional Owners and local government to undertake this important work, with the Feral Cat program requiring a similar level of collaboration.

The Feral Pig project was supported through funding from the Shire of Nannup, Peppermint Estate Pty Ltd., and the State Natural Resource Management Program, and is facilitated through a continuing partnership with the Lower Blackwood LCDC the Lower Blackwood Vertebrate Pest Management Group.

In addition the AMR Shire’s Environmental Management Fund provided support for a 1 year pilot Feral Pig Focus project to complement the Scott River Project for Feral Pig Control in the wider AMR shire.

For more info contact jeff.john@lowerblackwood.com.au