Feral pig management - Creating an ongoing solution

For Aussie landowners, feral pigs can range from nuisance to financial and environmental disaster, and finding out how to manage the species through trial and error can be complicated, expensive, frustrating and time-consuming.

The National Feral Pig Action Plan has only been around for a few years. In that time, they've become responsible for working with jurisdictions and community groups to improve land managers' skills and knowledge of how to apply the different feral pig management methods. They also undertake stakeholder engagement, raise public awareness of feral pig issues and support landholders' efforts to reduce pig numbers in their local region.

Dr Heather Channon is the National Feral Pig Management Coordinator. She wants to support landholders to achieve better results by reducing feral pig populations - and their impacts - in a lasting way.

'We're wanting to create ongoing change by shifting feral pig management to become more coordinated, collaborative, proactive and strategic, rather than being ad hoc, reactive and short term,' Dr Channon says.

Part of this is accepting that managing feral pig populations is a long-term process. It needs to be carried out over a large area for many years using multiple best-practice management methods, the choice of which depends on local factors.

As feral pigs don't follow borders, a community effort involving private and public landholders working together is recommended. A Glovebox Guide for managing feral pigs is available to assist land managers with developing a plan.

As feral pigs are classified in Queensland as an invasive species under the Biosecurity Act 2014, landholders are legally required to take all reasonable and practical measures to minimise the biosecurity risks that they pose. Every local council must also have a biosecurity plan that covers invasive species in its area. For an overview of feral pigs and landholders' legal obligations, check out this page by the Queensland Government.

One of the biggest challenges landholders face is due to how intelligent feral pigs are; they're masterful at avoiding humans, so people can't rely on seeing them to know they're present. 'Feral pigs are so intelligent, adaptive and resilient in their environment, and even though we think we go out and get them all, they're [often] smarter than us,' Dr Channon says.

Most landholders are all too familiar with the physical signs of damage to the landscape if they do have pigs present. 'They dig up pastures, there may be wallows in water sources like dam banks and creeks, as well as soil disturbance where they root around.'

Pig Fact: Feral pigs have a home range they move within, but that can vary as to the seasons and what food sources are available.

Other signs that indicate their presence may include hoof prints and scat, damage to fences and rub marks on trees. For livestock owners, the signs can be in what's not there, such as ewes with missing young.

'Often, it's hard to detect feral pigs where there's livestock. Unlike dogs, feral pigs don't leave evidence behind,' Dr Channon says. 'So if they've preyed on a newborn lamb, for example, there will be no lamb left. But if pig scats can be found, wool can be found in them.'

Feral pigs are so intelligent, adaptive and resilient in their environment, and even if we think they've all been removed, this may not be the case.

To confirm that it's feral pigs damaging land or livestock, Dr Channon recommends communicating with neighbours to see if they've also noticed the signs and setting up trail cameras. 'Trail cameras are a really good way of detecting feral pigs because [they provide] the evidence, and we can see that they're there, and you can also count how many go past the camera too.'

The New South Wales Local Land Services has created this video guide to setting up camera traps, which you can watch here.

From here, Dr Channon says landholders can both help build the national database and collaborate with their community by recording the data gathered in the FeralPigScan app.

'Over time, this data can be used to determine whether desired targets are being achieved, such as changes in populations and/or the impacts feral pigs are having in your area.'

She says if targets aren't being met, the data will help landholders identify if the methods being used, the frequency of the management action or the timing needs to change.

Trail cameras are a really good way of detecting feral pigs because they provide the evidence, and we can see that they're there ... You can also count how many go past the camera.

The FeralPigScan app is a free resource that logs sightings and evidence of pigs, the damage caused and the control activities taken. The app uses a private group set-up, meaning the data does not become publicly available. Automatic alerts can be sent to members of your local pest management group and to the government agency responsible for monitoring feral pig activity in your area. The app can also be used to create a community group, develop a map to monitor pig populations and assess the scale of the problem in the local area.

Pig Fact: Pigs eat just about anything, from small livestock to digging up pastures looking for earthworms and invertebrates.

'You can share that information, and as that information is being collated, then it's providing that wider evidence base about the size of the problem in that area,' Dr Channon says. 'By working together, it means you can help share the costs, the time, the resources, the labour and the equipment that's required here.'

You can read more about the FeralPigScan app here.

Due to the prolific nature of feral pigs and the size of mainland Australia, Dr Channon says the approach to management is to suppress populations, as the goal of eradicating the species completely is impractical.

'Whilst it would be great to achieve, the goal to completely eradicate feral pigs from mainland Australia is generally unrealistic. We are dealing with a very clever, resilient and adaptable species,' she says. 'We can perhaps get to a local eradication, but in most areas, we aim to suppress populations and to maintain those oppressed populations over time.'

The main methods of population control are baiting, trapping and aerial shooting.

Pig Fact: Feral pigs require a permanent source of water because they don't sweat and therefore need that water to maintain their body temperature.

Whatever management method you choose, Dr Channon says it's important to be strategic and note when you aim to target the pigs, as seasonal conditions could make it easier or harder to manage those populations.

'For example, periods of dry conditions when pigs are congregating around available water, that's a perfect time for feral pig management,' Dr Channon says. 'It's much harder when there's a lot of water and food available, and they're spread out in the environment.'

'A better understanding about where feral pigs are in the local landscape at different times of the year - and then trying to understand why they're there - can actually help to focus efforts into these areas as well as inform future management programs.'

While some people turn to exclusion fencing, if the feral pigs are trying to reach food or water behind it, a fence may not be enough to stop them from actively trying to get through the fence, potentially causing damage.

Baiting

Image courtesy of Murray LLS.

In Australia, pigs can be baited with 1080 or a sodium nitrate bait called Hoggone, which has been deemed a more humane choice of poison for feral pigs.

For successful baiting, pigs need to be trained with 'free feeding', where they are regularly fed with non-toxic grain to draw the maximum number of feral pigs to the site. Finding the right spot to promote free feeding is also important, and land managers need to identify areas where pigs might encounter the food.

That's part of the challenge here; lots of patience is required for free feeding before laying the bait.

'It may take even up to 21 days for the full group of pigs in the environment to come and free feed,' Dr Channon says. 'It's really important here that people are really patient and don't jump the gun because the wise ones are watching, so it's a matter of making sure you've got the entire group in there, including the wise, older sows.' 'That's part of the challenge here; patience is required for free feeding before laying the bait.'

The chemical 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) is a Schedule 7 poison in Australia. As per state, territory and local government guidelines, mixing or injecting meat baits with 1080 requires accreditation and training. Landholders will need to work closely with local councils or other providers to access 1080-treated baits.

Trapping

Image courtesy of Midlands Biosecurity

Another common method used for feral pigs is trapping, which also requires training the pigs through free feeding. 'There are different types and designs of traps available; it really comes down to preference from landholders about what type of trap they use,' Dr Channon says. The different types of traps can include designs that make them less likely to impact non-targeted species, such as wallabies.

In some areas of Queensland, they're able to utilise fruit like bananas and mangoes for free feeding because pigs are more familiar with that as a food than grain.

It's important to ensure the trap is big enough to hold an unknown number of pigs, as even with trail cameras, landholders may not have an accurate estimate of the number of pigs present until they're caught.

To read about one North Queensland farmer's experience trapping feral pigs, read our Growing Country story here.

'In some areas of Queensland, they're able to utilise fruit like bananas and mangoes for [free feeding] because pigs are more familiar with that as a food than grain, so that can be part of the strategy,' Dr Channon says.

Shooting

Image courtesy of ACT Government

Aerial shooting is another effective management method for removing entire groups of feral pigs, but it also requires funding to cover the costs of the helicopter, pilot and shooter.

Some local councils run aerial shooting programs, with co-investments provided by land managers. In other areas, communities might build their own syndicates where landholders contribute money to support a program and hire contractors.

Regardless of which method we utilise, land managers must make sure that we comply with codes of practice and standard operating procedures for the humane control of feral pigs.

Dr Channon says finding experienced pilots and shooters is an important part of the process. The codes of practice and standard operating procedures can also be found on the PestSmart website. 'Regardless of which method we utilise, land managers must make sure that we comply with codes of practice and standard operating procedures for the humane control of feral pigs,' Dr Channon says.

While pig hunting may be a favourite pastime of many Aussies, Dr Channon says it depends on the circumstances as to when it's an efficient form of management. 'It comes down to the size of the problem in the area,' she says. 'If there are only a few animals present, then this type of approach may be suitable to remove those individuals.' If hunters want to enter private property, they must obtain permission from the landowners and adhere to the biosecurity rules.

Dr Channon says the risk is that hunters or shooters on the property could scare the pigs away from any ongoing baiting or trapping programs, wasting resources, time and money.

As time passes, it can be hard to remember the initial damage pests have caused the environment or to see just how much the environment has recovered. For that reason, Dr Channon recommends keeping records and photos not just of the 'before' but also of the 'after' in areas affected by feral pigs. A photopoint monitoring fact sheet is available here.

'Landholders generally focus feral pig management around numbers killed because that information is easier to obtain, rather than the changes in the impacts from control activities,' Dr Channon says. 'Wherever possible and practical, landholders should consider collecting information to enable them to determine what the return on the investment has been from undertaking the work. This will help them to see why it's important to keep going.'

By doing this and by sharing the data with others in their local community using tools like the FeralPigScan app, Dr Channon is hopeful that landholders can reduce the impact of feral pigs and help the delivery of the national plan. Not only can it make an impact on a local level, Dr Channon hopes it will help the national team make a stronger case to increase funding and support for programs in the future.