Page 4 - Australian Pork Newspaper

First shots fired in ferocious feral fight
GOOD to see Heather Channon recently re- lease a snapshot of in- sights from the March 30 inaugural round- table e-gathering of key stakeholders of the National Feral Pig Co- ordinator Program.
Undertake training of landholders on the dif- ferent best management techniques that are avail- able to ensure that they are successfully, strategi- cally and cost-effectively applied
ported by robust govern- ance rules) to centrally capture data from man- agement activities and re- search programs to form a national database to use for monitoring and in- form future investments
Cant
Comment
by BRENDON CANT
Heather has a lot on her plate with such a big role, so it’s also good to see the recent appointment of respected agribusi- ness leader John Maher as Chair of the Steering Group that’ll lead the de- velopment of a National Feral Pig Action Plan.
Need to undertake eco- nomic analyses to pro- vide current data on the agricultural, environ- mental and social im- pacts caused by feral pigs
Explore export oppor- tunities and build new markets for Australian wild boar to offset the decline in demand in ex- isting markets
According to an APL media release, Maher will play an active role working with program co-ordinator, Dr Heather Channon and a wide range of stakeholders to deliver a preliminary Na- tional Feral Pig Action Plan to the Federal De- partment of Agriculture by January 2021.
Need for sustained funding and resources to support long term reduc- tion of Australia’s feral pig population and the economic, environmental and social risks that feral pigs present
Standardise method- ologies used for collating and reporting of popula- tion density and distribu- tion data across jurisdic- tions
I wish Heather the best of luck for what is a big, tough gig in a big, tough country seemingly now at war with some big, tough gangs of feral pigs.
The National Feral Pig Co-ordinator Program is supported through $1.4 million grant funding from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment over three and a half years and is managed by APL, hence Heather remains part of the APL ‘family’.
coordinated programs to control feral pigs in their area, rather than individ- ually
Need to work with in- digenous communities to build capacity in best prac- tice and sustainable feral pig control programs
Strategies required to address illegal feral pig hunting activities and their impact on planned control activities by land managers.
Its lofty goal, according to Heather, is to demon- strably reduce the eco- nomic, social and envi- ronmental impacts and risks from feral pigs in Australia.
Need for a co-ordinated and agreed system (sup-
One feral pig down back in the early 1980s. Skinning and gutting – hot work in summer.
Page 4 – Australian Pork Newspaper, July 2020
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“Strong, cohesive, collaborative and co- ordinated partnerships between stakeholders implementing best man- agement practice control programs will be re- quired,” she said.
Delivering Specialist Agribusiness Public Relations Skills that will build your business, enhance your brand, promote your products and sell your services, all backed by unsurpassed professionalism, experience and track record.
National antimicrobial resistance surveillance study – we need your help
VETERINARIANS use antimicrobials “as little as possible, as much as necessary” to ensure the health and welfare of the pig is not compromised throughout its life.
In 2015, we showed Australia’s favour- able low antimicro- bial resistance status is advantageous for increasing consumer confidence.
in human health.
The findings will also
One way the industry can continue to demon- strate our good animal management practices is by providing hard, science-based evi- dence.
The survey involves the collection of faecal samples from healthy pigs at slaughter.
APL is completing an antimicrobial re- sistance surveillance study (australianpork. com.au/wp-content/up- loads/2019/08/RnD4P- WebsiteSummary-Au- gust2019.pdf) funded with support from the Australian Government Department of Agricul- ture, Water and the En- vironment as part of its Rural R&D for Profit program.
A high level of pro- ducer participation in this research would be beneficial for the in- dustry.
This study aims to verify our low antimi- crobial resistance levels to antibiotics used to treat Australian pigs and those critically im- portant antibiotics used
If you do not wish for your pigs to be sampled as part of this research project, please email me at lechelle.van- breda@australianpork. com.au by Friday, July 17 and provide your PIC and Tattoo number to opt out.
be used to support our international obliga- tions.
All data will be confi- dentially managed and producers will be pro- vided with outcomes from their farms.
If you have any other inquiries, please give me a call on 0447 099 397.
Lechelle van Breda
Contact Brendon Cant
M 0417 930 536 E brendon@iinet.net.au
work collaboratively in
Vet and Stock Consulting Pty Ltd
Service-based Results-driven
Servicing pig, sheep and beef producers across southern Australia
Providing a range of veterinary herd health and production services including:
• Whole farm evidence-based veterinary services
• QA development and management
• Production and data analytics focused on improving farm performance, pro tability and productivity
E: enquiries@vetandstock.com.au M: 0459 378 232
Dr Ben Linn DVM BSc MASc
Dr Kat Linn DVM BSc BASc (Hons)
Key insights she has shared in a round-up of the roundtable she set in- clude:
Strengthened emphasis required on impact re- duction as a result of con- trol programs undertaken
Need to increase knowl- edge of population dis- tribution and densities of feral pigs to inform planning and monitor outcomes from control programs
The author and his dog Tiger occasionally made a small impact on the feral pig population in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. Looks like skinning and gutting was a ‘three stubbie job’ back in the day.
Improve the commu- nication of outcomes of community-led feral pig management programs to key stakeholders to gain awareness of work being conducted and issues being experienced
Continue efforts to en- courage landholders to