Page 6 - Australian Pork Newapaper

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Contact Brendon Cant
GOING pigging, mainly in forest country south of Perth with my faith- ful brindle dog Tiger, a three-quarters bull terrier, quarter heeler, was one of my favour- ite weekend recreations back in the 1980s.
I therefore have watched, with some interest, the in- creasingly loud calls for feral pig culling to be stepped up a few notches in what some see as one small step in our coun- try’s efforts to inhibit the spread of African swine fever, assuming it reaches our vulnerable shores.
With ASF already hav- ing landed in Timor Leste and with Darwin and, in- deed, the whole Northern Territory and far north Queensland coastlines vulnerable to incursions of irresponsible people and ASF-tainted meat, its prohibition and inhibition if it gets here, as some believe is inevitable, is oc- cupying the minds of Aus- tralian pork producers and all industry stakeholders like nothing ever before.
It’s made fear of the likes of foot and mouth disease and porcine re- productive and respira- tory syndrome incursions seem like a blister on a pig’s snout.
According to Australian Pork Limited, the most
Cant Comment by BRENDON CANT
significant risk of entry of ASF virus into Australia is via illegally imported contaminated pork prod- ucts that are then swill fed to domestic pigs and/ or accessed by feral pigs.
Though feral pig num- bers fluctuate widely ac- cording to seasons and food availability and estimates of their num- bers are about as reliable and accurate as a Donald Trump midnight Tweet, there could be something like 24 million feral pigs (according to the Nation- al Farmers’ Federation) roaming this great south- ern land.
They are recognised as a key threat to native flora, fauna and ecosystems un- der federal legislation and are a declared pest ani-
mal in Queensland, NSW, ACT, Victoria and West- ern Australia.
In terms of industry ef- forts to control feral pigs, the Invasive Animals CRC and Animal Control Technologies Australia, with support from Meat and Livestock Australia and other industry part- ners, developed the 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) PIGOUT bait, the next- generation sodium nitrite HOGGONE bait and the HogHopper feral pig-spe- cific bait delivery device.
I understand HOG- GONE is now being as- sessed by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority as part of its registration ap- plication process.
This can be slow.
The National Farmers’ Federation recently called on all levels governments to act immediately to con- trol the feral pig popula- tion by investing in and working with industry to- wards the more effective control of feral pigs.
NFF chief executive Tony Mahar said: “The spread of ASF to Aus- tralia has the potential to decimate our commercial pork industry and the live- lihoods of farming fami- lies and the communities they contribute to.”
With most observers agreeing that ASF has, in not much more than a year, slashed China’s com- mercial pig population by
half and the world’s by 25 percent, it is a hot button issue.
While I’m not suggest- ing the likes of me should, could or would take up arms and go bush to try to make a dent in feral pig numbers, government vertebrate pest control of- ficers, who already un- dertake ground and aerial shooting operations, are out there doing just that, hopefully helped and not hindered by amateur en- thusiasts.
Of course, if ASF was to infiltrate here, the is- sue of how best to edu- cate amateur pig hunters in the appropriate ways of handling and disposing of ferals potentially infested with ASF is another big question.
Hopefully, it’s one we won’t need to ponder or answer, at least for now.
Meanwhile, responsible steps are being taken nation-wide and industry- wide to minimise the risk of ASF entry into Austra- lia, albeit some would say obvious and particularly vulnerable entry points have been neglected for a bit too long.
No sniffer dogs at Dar- win International Airport until that changed after an outcry last month was one big miss, especially with flights landing there from Dili, the capital city of Timor Leste.
Lest we forget.
The author and his dog Tiger enjoyed hunting feral pigs in the 1980s, backed up with a rifle or sometimes just a spear, or sometimes just a knife.
Back to the future for pigging past
M 0417 930 536
E brendon@iinet.net.au
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Page 6 – Australian Pork Newspaper, November 2019
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