Shocking outback footage highlights $300 million Aussie problem: 'Grossly underreported'
In Australia, some estimates suggest there could be as many as 50 million feral pigs running amuck around the country, costing us millions.
Hunters, farmers and regional landowners are desperately calling for a more nationalised approach in tackling the country's spiralling feral pig problem, with some estimates suggesting their population has surged to as high as 40 or 50 million.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, President of the Australian Pig Doggers and Hunters Association (APDHA), Ned Makim, said in 2024 hunters have eradicated over four million feral pigs. He said this figure alone debunks official government statistics which suggest there are 3.5 million of the pests nationally.
Makim said largely, the onus has fallen on locals and landowners in affected areas to eliminate the non-native species — who he likened to rodents, in that they are extremely prolific breeders, clever, adaptable and eat virtually everything — but, he said it's an expensive job with costs quickly adding up.
Makim suggested the country could benefit from a subsidised hunter's scheme, which may in turn entice others to join the cause. Posting video this week showing a cattle trough on a farm in Queensland's north completely overrun by the pests, he said such scenes are just the tip of the iceberg and in this instance, the animals likely "fouled the water", preventing cows from accessing it.
True population of feral pigs in Australia 'grossly underreported'
The Great Australian Pig Hunt has seen 4.86 million pigs killed so far this year by November, with $291,640,879 spent to do it, According to the APDHA.
"The estimation of how many pigs there are in Australia is grossly underdone," Makim told Yahoo News. "The minimum number of pigs is thought to be about three million and the maximum about 23 million. We think that it's at least double that higher figure, and maybe more."
By the end of this year, hunters across Australia "will have killed about 6.4 million pigs", according to Makim. "So that indicates that the lowest estimate is just unsupportable. It's wildly understated. There could be as many as 50 million," he said.
"We think hunters need to be recognised for their contribution to managing numbers and empowered to do more by opening up more public land to managed hunting — perhaps looking at paying hunters for the work they're doing, through either a bounty or contracting arrangements."
Makim said pigs recognise no boundaries, borders or fence lines, they "they just do whatever they want" — heightening the need for a more uniformed approach to population management across the country.
"You have to get all of them out of an area or as close to it as you can, to be able to manage what's left. We have a plague of pigs at the moment. There's just no doubt that's what it is — and that's Australia-wide. There's more pigs now than I've ever seen in 50 years of hunting them," he warned.
Why are feral pigs such a big problem?
Feral pigs are a major problem in the country due to their widespread environmental, agricultural, and economic impact. They cause extensive damage to native ecosystems by rooting and trampling vegetation, leading to soil erosion, waterway pollution, and the destruction of wetlands. This behaviour disrupts habitats for native plants and animals, and threatens biodiversity.
Invasive threat taking over camping spot on pristine Aussie tourist island
Shocking footage highlights Australia's multi-million-dollar feral pig problem
Feral pigs also prey on native species, including ground-nesting birds, reptiles, and amphibians, further endangering vulnerable wildlife. Makim said they are now so many of them, they're turning up at coastal areas and even on beaches, when formerly they were limited to the bush.
In agriculture, feral pigs stand to decimate crops. They ruin fencing and prey on young livestock like lambs and sheep. They contribute to substantial economic losses for farmers and pose a biosecurity risk by spreading diseases such as leptospirosis, brucellosis, and potentially African swine fever, which could devastate Australia's pork industry if introduced.
"Pigs are becoming more of an issue in suburbia now too," Makim said. "They're certainly on the coast, because they're ubiquitous, they can live anywhere."
As it currently stands, "the vast majority of the cost of managing pigs is being born by individuals and families" engaging in their cultural pursuit of hunting. "So the first thing we'd like to see would be to share the cost of that in some way," Makim said.
He explained that while eradication is paramount, it's equally as important that it's done so ethically.
"It's not like we hate them, they're just an animal going about an animal's activity, and they deserve the same right to a humane death," he said.
"That's what we owe an animal if we're going to kill it and the law prescribes that in Australia, everywhere that pig hunting is legal, it's allowed on the basis that the pig isn't subjected to unnecessary harm and unnecessary pain."
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