Community
1 October, 2021
You can help manage the feral pigs
WHAT should you do if you see feral pigs in your area, or wallows (depressions in the ground containing mud or shallow water)?
A good start is the community-based application and website called ‘Feral Scan’ – to which you can report any sighting of feral pests including feral pigs.
This can include not only seeing the animals, but also hoof prints, scats, howling or photos. “The more information you record, the more informative the feral pig map will become over time,” the Feral Scan site says. “Trends in movement will start to emerge, which can be used to decide where control should be undertaken.”
In areas like Mission Beach, where feral pig activity has caused damage in suburban yards in recent weeks, you can report all sightings or damage caused by the pests to Cassowary Coast Regional Council. Remember, the more information and details, the better Council may be able to help, such as the lending of feral pig traps.
Council says: “Residents are encouraged to either deter feral pigs from their property by restricting access via fencing, or removing access to compost heaps, mulched garden beds and other potential food sources such as fruit trees.
“Residents can loan a trap from Council and undertake their own trapping program to help reduce impacts on their property, the environment and wider community.
“Cassowary Coast Regional Council maintains a permanent trap in the Wongaling Beach area and regularly removes pigs from land under its control. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services (QPWS) also have a number of sites in the area where they trap pigs on land they manage.”
They have also reminded residents that within urban areas like Mission Beach, Wongaling Beach and Bingil Bay, other methods such as removal by using toxins or rifles is not a safe or a viable option.
