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Feral pig management
n It’s all about the people
APRIL announces mid-year education awards
IN keeping with its commitment to enhance the overall human ca- pacity base for science, innovation and training in the Australasian pork industry, and to build upon current research, education and training investments, APRIL is currently seeking ap- plications to support its education program.
• Support for MS/MSc/ MPhil students, where a research project is an incorporated component of the program of study, in an APRIL-funded re- search project or related
cerning the different education opportunities from APRIL, including guidelines and applica- tion forms, can be found at apri.com.au/education- and-training-opportuni ties/
applicant’s research potential including the research proposal, alignment with APRIL research priorities, evi- dence of industry en- dorsement or relevance, a personal statement from the applicant, the super- visor track record, and a communication and delivery plan – if appro- priate.
APRIL offers a number of different opportunities for current and prospec- tive undergraduate, post- graduate and potential students, as follows:
• Part-support for PhD students.
Eligibility
APRIL will determine the number and amount of any grant awarded.
• Scholarship awards for Honours students
Eligibility varies ac- cording to the different scheme being applied for.
Completed applications should reach APRIL by the closing date, and out- comes will be announced after the closing date.
Applications should be lodged electronically to Dr Charles Rikard-Bell at c.rikardbell@april.org.au
• ‘Top-ups’ for post- graduate research stu- dents – PhD, MS/MSc/ MPhil – in an APRIL- funded research project or related
Make sure the guide- lines associated with each opportunity are read thoroughly before starting or submitting an application.
The APRIL educa- tion advisory committee will assess all applica- tions against APRIL- related criteria including the academic record and curriculum vitae of the applicant, the
Questions related to any of the awards should be directed to Dr John Pluske at j.pluske@april. org.au or 0410 436 871. Importantdates
• Support for DVM/ undergraduate veterinary science projects
To apply
Applications open June 28, 2021.
Information con-
Applications close July 30, 2021.
DEALING with feral pigs and their impacts is a frustrating, time consuming and costly challenge for land man- agers.
to support the plan’s im- plementation
The Australian Bu- reau of Agricultural and Resource Economics estimates the average annual cost to private agricultural landholders amounts to $47.7 million a year.
• Developing the RD&E feral pig strategy • Determining appro- priate performance met- rics to measure impacts of feral pigs on targeted
In its first meeting, the national feral pig action plan implementa- tion committee recog- nised that trust, strong partnerships, coordina- tion and collaboration between land managers are essential to combat feral pig populations and their impacts in the landscape.
of best practice feral pig management methods
A national indigenous engagement advisory panel is being estab- lished to progress op- portunities for the in- digenous land and sea management ranger.
Immediate focus has been building on-ground presence and strength- ening land manager awareness of the plan.
comes from these dem- onstration sites will in- form activities of other community groups and raise public awareness of feral pig impacts.
The sub-committee will be chaired by Mr Murrandoo Yanner from the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Cor- poration who will also join the implementation committee.
New abattoir biosecurity standards
Collaboration with government, natural resource management agencies, indigenous or- ganisations and primary producers will be inte- gral.
Attracting funding to support the plan’s imple- mentation is also very high on the agenda, in particular how to ac- cess funds allocated to established pest and weed control in the 2021 budget.
NEW abattoir biosecu- rity standards have been drafted in a joint effort between industry stake- holders.
ment issuing permits to abattoirs in the event of an ASF outbreak.
have been reported in Po- land, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.
Bhutan and India.
Of our neighbours,
We are also looking to work with a number of existing community-led programs around Aus- tralia and extend these into demonstration sites to:
To discuss any items in this article, contact the national feral pig management coordinator Dr Heather Channon on 0423 056 045 or heather. channon@feralpigs.com. au
Processing representa- tives, DAWE veterinary staff, Biosecurity SA, APL staff and its African swine fever technical panel at- tended the discussions.
Many thanks to all who participated.
The global situation
The UK is introducing stricter controls of pas- senger entry to stop bringing in meat products from European countries via trucks, trains, ships and planes.
Despite external claims of ASF in live export pigs from Thailand, no cases havebeenreported.
• Strengthen land man- ager participation and involvement in coordi-
It will be working on:
In Europe, ASF con- tinues to break out in wild pig populations in Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Slovakia.
New ASF outbreaks have been reported in China, North Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia,
Thai officials have re- sponded to the claims from Vietnam with wide- spread testing and have re- portedly demonstrated no traces of ASF.
nated groups
• Improve adoption
advice on the collection, analysis and reporting of aggregated data to inform management strategies.
and integration and •Provide land man- agers with technologies, resources and training to plan, conduct, monitor and evaluate their activi-
ties.
The learnings and out-
This includes net- working and support through on-ground feral pig management pro- grams.
The scientific advisory panel – set up to provide independent scientific advice to the implemen- tation committee – has also met for the first time.
To keep up to date with the implementation of the plan, subscribe to the monthly newsletter by emailing contact@fe ralpigs.com.au
Lead by Australian Pork Limited and Pork SA, the first abattoir biosecurity workshop was hosted in Adelaide on May 28.
Feedback generated from discussions will also in- form research into truck washing, lead by David Hamilton.
In Poland, the suspected route of disease transmis- sion was in contaminated maize fodder fed to pigs.
Timor-Leste has recorded 28 percent of deaths due to ASF and classical swine fever out of the pre- outbreak herd number of 453,500 pigs.
• Identifying research, development and exten- sion gaps and priorities
The standards will act as a guideline for govern-
Infected domestic herds
assets
• Providing technical
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Australian Pork Newspaper, July 2021 – Page 5