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Page 2 %u2013 Australian Pork Newspaper, December 2024 www.porknews.com.aubiosecurity practices and procedures.Two projects have recently been funded to better understand these risks.The first, %u2018Informing risks of African swine fever transmission at the feral-domestic pig interface by collection and analysis of feral pig movement data%u2019, is being delivered by the Centre of Invasive Species Solutions, with funding from the Department of Primary Industries Queensland. This project is being conducted at two sites in the Western Downs Regional Council and Toowoomba Regional Council districts of southeast Queensland. Feral pigs of greater than 40kg are in the process of being fitted with GPS collars (n=12 per site), with 10 ear tags also being fitted to younger pigs at each site.Once animals are collared or tagged, they are then released into the landscape and their movements tracked over a 12-month period. The commercial pig operations at these two sites are utilising conventional indoor housing infrastructure, ranging in size from small to very large farrow-tofinish sites, and medium to very large-sized grow-out only sites %u2013 no breeding stock. They also differ in size, site level management and levels of biosecurity.The second project, %u2018Informing disease transmission risks at the feral-domestic pig interface%u2019, is being funded through Victoria%u2019s Swine Compensation Fund as part of the 2024 Livestock Biosecurity Grant funding program. Excitingly, this pilot project aims to understand potential disease transmission risks posed by feral pigs to outdoorbased pig production systems. This project is being led by Western Plains Pork, and Australian Pork Limited is also investing in this research.As for the Queensland study, GPS collars and ear tags will be fitted to feral pigs and animals tracked for 12 months. Feral pig collaring, management, monitoring and community engagement expertise held by Darren Marshall and Lachlan Marshall from the Centre of Invasive Species Solutions will again be utilised, with support from Agriculture Victoria and experienced destruction, disposal and decontamination specialists Duncan Worsfold and Peter White. With state parks and forests in proximity to the project site, regional staff from Parks Victoria and Forest Fire Management Victoria, agencies of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, are also involved %u2013 establishing cross-tenure partnerships is imperative to the success of this project. Another essential component of this research is engagement with local hunters, to gain their cooperation to enable successful conduct of the project as well as to obtain local intelligence.By monitoring feral pig movement in these two studies, data on home range, core home range, spatial and temporal movement patterns and their preferred habitats will be captured. This information will enable understanding of whether any animals interacted with domestic pigs and associated infrastructure over the 12-month period. Movement data will also be used to establish if there are epidemiological links of critical importance to potential disease introductions between different properties and unrelated farming enterprises, including feedlot cattle, extensive sheep and cattle production, and grain. The information gained, including size and scale of control areas, will also be used to plan future feral pig management planning, including knowing which control methods should be used, where, when and how often.In Victoria, samples from feral pigs will also be collected to assess the incidence of key endemic and zoonotic diseases, such as Japanese encephalitis, leptospirosis, Q fever and brucellosis, and external parasites. The movements of more than 800 feral pigs have been tracked using GPS collars in many studies across Australia. Despite this extensive and important work, no studies were conducted with the principal objective of quantifying potential biosecurity risks posed by feral pigs to commercial pig production or other livestock industries. It is anticipated that these projects will show how a piggery%u2019s exposure risk profile to feral pigs may change over time %u2013 for example, seasonally.As part of these studies, workshops will be held to build the capacity and capability of land managers to apply different feral pig control methods, demonstrate benefits from working together to remove feral pigs and support efforts by jurisdictions and industry to promote biosecurity behaviour change. Face-to-face community information sessions, meetings with individual land managers and the provision of relevant information and resources will occur at both locations. This engagement is essential to ensuring that everyone is aware of the project, understands its purpose, is willing to participate in free feeding and trapping activities to capture animals for tagging, and grants access to land by CISS personnel to undertake collaring activities. At the conclusion of both projects, community meetings will be arranged to present the project outcomes and each land manager who participated in the project will be provided with information on the movement data of all collared pigs, together with written materials.Subject to agreement, data may also be incorporated into the Australian Animal Disease Spread Model for ASF, FMD and potentially others to enhance their robustness, providing national benefits. The AADIS epidemiological model simulates the spread and management of these diseases.Once both projects are completed, insights gained will be extended to the wider pork industry by the CISS.Resources will be also developed, drawing on additional material from DPI Queensland and DEECA as well as other feral pig-related projects, to support pork producers with mitigating ongoing risks posed by feral pigs to their operations.Finally, we are seeking feedback from those dealing with feral pigs on the National Feral Pig Action Plan%u2019s implementation and the progress made to date. The stakeholder evaluation survey can be found by scanning the QR code below and will take about seven minutes to complete. The survey will close on Friday December 20, 2024.Wishing you all a very happy festive season.For any questions related to these initiatives or to discuss feral pig management issues, contact me on Heather.Channon@feralpigs.com.au or 0423 056 045. 2025JAN 7-9 %u2013 Banff Pork Seminar %u2013 Banff, Canada. https://www.banffpork.ca/JAN 24-25 %u2013 Iowa Pork Congress %u2013 Des Moines, Iowa, USA. https://www.iowapork.org/about-ippa/iowa-pork-congressJAN 28-30 %u2013 International Production and Processing Expo 2025 %u2013 Georgia, USA. https://www.ippexpo.org/FEB 11-12 %u2013 Minnesota Pork Congress %u2013 Mankato, USA. https://www.mnporkcongress.com/MAR 12-14 %u2013 VIV Asia %u2013 Bangkok, Thailand. https://www.vivasia.nl/MAR 24-26 %u2013 2025 National Feral Pig Conference %u2013 Gold Coast, QLD. https://feralpigs.com.au/MAR 25-26 %u2013 London Swine Conference %u2013 London, Ontario. https://www.londonswineconference.ca/JUN 4-5 %u2013 World Pork Expo %u2013 Des Moines, Iowa, USA. https://www.worldpork.org/NOV 17-19 %u2013 APSA Conference %u2013 Melbourne, Australia. https://www.apsa. asn.au/07 3286 1833porknews.com.auHow to supply event details: Send all details to Australian Pork Newspaper, PO Box 162, Wynnum, Qld 4178, call 07 3286 1833 or email ads@collins.mediaPork IndustryCalendar of Events%u00a9 Collins Media Pty Ltd %u2013 Contents may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. It is the responsibility of advertisers to ensure the correctness of their claims and statements. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.Tracking feral pig movements around piggeriesEvident feral pig damage to pastureland. Photo: Rebecca McGowan* from P1| 08 8531 2700 | sales@jacksonsaustralia.com | jacksonsaustralia.com.au%u2022 Animal Shelters%u2022 Feeders%u2022 Silos%u2022 Farm BuildingsEmail editorial@collins.media or call 07 3286 1833Want us to cover your event?Get noticed by key pork industry members!