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13 Dec 2016

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Kimba Plateau and Crosbie, Mound Springs & Wetlands Pig Management Program

Project summary

This project will initiate a joint cooperative feral pig management program to address pig populations that are degrading important spring, wetland and culture sites on the Kimba Plateau and Crosbie Mound Springs.

These springs are currently relatively weed free, but this is rapidly changing due to feral animals. The project will control pigs using aerial shooting and on ground baiting (pig grain hoppers) as a trial cooperative program to reduce pig populations. It will build from regional experience controlling pigs and work directly with QPWS.
To achieve the National Landcare Program outcomes, this project will reduce feral animal numbers threatening to transform the Kimba Plateau and the Crosbie Mound Springs spring habitat and introduce noxious weeds, increase the level of involvement of the Olkola Aboriginal Community in protecting environmental assets, rehabilitate local wetland habitats, and protect the Kimba Plateau springs and Crosbie Mound Springs.

Feral pig populations at springs and wetlands of the Kimba Plateau Crosbie Mound Springs will be controlled using annual aerial shooting from helicopters during the late-dry season when pigs concentrate at the springs and wetlands. This effort will be supplemented using on-ground baiting at springs with thick canopies, and springs with large networks of spring channels. Pig grain hoppers will be trialled as a selective means to eradicate pigs, where pigs are training to come to grain hoppers each day for feed, and poisoned on subsequent days once trained. Direct field 1080 baiting will not be used to control pigs, using the hoppers instead which protect the Olkola totem, the Dingo, and supports dingo populations which are needed in the area to control feral cats that are killing native possums, gliders and the threatened Golden Shouldered Parrot. (Shellberg et al. 2015).

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