Feral pig cull in the Dalby district culls 392 pigs

A total of 191 landholders registered their properties for the aerial shoot, which resulted in close to 400 pigs being culled.

Maintaining reduced feral pest animal populations, such as feral pigs, reduces threats and provides benefits for the environment, including waterways and remnant vegetation areas and farmland.

The Condamine Alliance and landholder-funded pest management project covered over 175,000 hectares, the largest such project undertaken in the Dalby region.

Condamine Alliance CEO Phil McCullough says while the initial project was much smaller, it quickly gained momentum.

“Originally we funded an area of 4000ha in the Jimbour Creek-Macalister region,” Mr McCullough said.

“This quickly expanded once other landholders recognised the wider scale opportunity to clean up the residual numbers that have escaped the intensive ground culling effort that has been in place since the 2010 and 2013 floods.

“The enthusiasm shown by the community as a whole to turn this into such a large-scale project shows both the pro-activeness of the Dalby community and the destructiveness of feral pigs.” 

It’s a sentiment echoed by Warra landholder and AgForce Grains Director Brendan Taylor, who has seen extensive damage from feral pigs on the Darling Downs.

“These pests cause problems for landholders in terms of both production, as they consume grain crops, but also cause serious damage to the environment through spreading disease, destabilising waterways and harming native wildlife.

“The aerial feral pig shoot that has happened over the last week will have a significantly positive impact for farming systems and the environment through our region,” Mr Taylor said.

This project is supported by Condamine Alliance, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme.

Federal Member for Maranoa, David Littleproud MP, said funding projects like this was a priority in the fertile farming land of the Darling Downs and a great example of how efforts can be maximised by coordinated community involvement.

“This is an impressive example of a well-coordinated community project covering a significant part of the Western Downs and delivering immediate benefits to landholders in the district and the environment,” Mr Littleproud said. The cost of pests and weeds to the agricultural sector is exponential if left uncontrolled, he said.