Today when we were on our half-day Rainforest/Waterfall 4WD tour we saw these 5 feral pigs. To many people they are cute little pigs and like my guests today on board would like them as pets. Feral pigs are a serious pest species in Australia. They occur in all states and territories and on some large coastal islands. They cause and estimated $106.5 million damage to Australia’s agricultural industries, environment and social values each year. The damage feral pigs cause to the environment is so significant that “predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs” is listed as a key threatening process for biodiversity conservation here in Australia. Here is a list of damage they just cause to the Environment and Agricultural industry. Environmental Pest: • Contribute to habitat degradation • Prey on native wildlife (eg sea turtle nests and eggs) • Damage sensitive wetlands, swamps, lagoons and ecosystem services • Compete with native wildlife for food and shelter • Trample and uproot native vegetation • Threaten World Heritage Areas (eg Kakadu National Park) • Damage culturally significant sites, including rock art. • Damage bush tucker and water resources • Causing soil erosion and contributing to land degradation • Browse and graze native vegetation • Spread weeds through their faeces • Damage creeklines, river banks, and waterways • Contribute to changes in plant communities. Agricultural industry • Compete with livestock for pasture and access to water. • Graze grasses and ground covers • Damage fruit (such as bananas) and vegetable crops • Damage grain crops, nuts and sugar cane • Prey on newborn lambs and scavenge around livestock. • Foul water sources, bore drains and irrigation infrastructure. • Cause soil erosion by digging and ripping up soil which can reduce the productive capacity of farmland. • Promote the colonisation and spread of agricultural weeds in farmland. • Damage fences and farm infrastructure. • Carry diseases of livestock and a human health risk (eg Leptospirosis). • Present a serious risk of exotic diseases (such as Foot-and-Mouth Disease) if introduced to Australia. • Threaten food security for Australians. • Require ongoing expenditure through control and addressing the problems they cause (eg. fence repair). Cute little pigs I think NOT!!!!!
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 03:33:58 +0000
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