Invasive Animal Management
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In this section:
- Why manage invasive animals?
- Who is responsible?
- Things to consider before you begin
Why manage invasive animals?
Invasive pest animals have significant impacts on Victoria’s primary industries, natural ecosystems, human and animal health and are one of the main threats to biodiversity in Australia today.
On agricultural land
The presence of invasive animals on or adjoining farmland may cause lost agricultural production through predation on livestock, grazing on crops and pastures, spreading weeds and contributing to erosion and land and water degradation. Control measures are often expensive and divert resources for management from everyday production. There is also a risk that they may introduce exotic disease and parasites to stock.
In 2010, the Invasive Animals Co-operative Research Centre published a report that estimated the direct national annual economic impact of six invasive animal species (wild dogs, foxes, mice, pigs, rabbits and starlings) of $743.5 million for both agricultural losses and expenditure on management, administration and research. Estimates of the environmental loss in Australia as a whole are not possible because of a lack of data. Therefore, this annual total underestimates the impact of invasive animal species in Australia.
Environmental costs
Invasive animals prey on native wildlife and can out-compete and displace other native animals by competing for harbour, food and water resources. They can cause detrimental effects on landscapes by spreading weeds and contributing to soil erosion, water degradation and loss of biodiversity. They may also carry and spread exotic diseases that can be transferred to native fauna.
Social impacts
The social impacts of invasive animals may include nuisance behaviour, destruction and fouling of building and infrastructure, disruption to farm activities, distress associated with loss of production and livestock predation. Invasive animals can carry exotic diseases to Australia or act as a reservoir for diseases that can spread to humans.
Approach to management
The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) uses a science-based approach along with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles to underpin our invasive animal management programs and management recommendations.
DPI places a priority on investing in the prevention and eradication of newly emerging ‘high-risk invasive animals’ and the protection of assets from the impacts of ’established invasive animals’. Humane animal welfare outcomes are also at the core of our work.
Who is responsible?
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We all have a role to play in invasive animal management. By working together, government, industry and the community can best reduce the impact of pest animals in Victoria.
In Victoria, invasive animals are classified under the CaLP Act as to their threat to agriculture and the environment. Generally, those that are declared as ‘Prohibited’, ‘Controlled’ or ‘Regulated’ may be considered ‘high-risk invasvie animals’ and DPI takes the lead to control these animals, while land owners have a responsbility to control those declared as ‘Established’ invasive animals.
Read more about invasive animal classification in Victoria.
High-risk invasive animals
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DPI is the lead agency in controlling high-risk invasive animals. More information on the management of this category of pest animal can be found on the High-Risk Invasive Animals page.
Established invasive animals
Land owners have a legal responsibility to control declared established pest animals under Section 20(1)(f) of the Catchment and Land Protection Act (1994), “In relation to his or her land a land owner must take all reasonable steps to prevent the spread of, and as far as possible eradicate, established pest animals.”
More information on the management of this category of pest animal can be found on the Established Invasive Animals page.
For more information on your responsibilities as a land owner, see Noxious Weed and Pest Animal Management: Your legal roles and responsibilities.
Things to consider before you begin
Management of established invasive animals
The first step is to ensure you are dealing with a declared established pest animal.
The most effective way to control pest animals is by using a variety of techniques, in a coordinated fashion, implemented at the landscape scale.
Before beginning a management program you should consider what the impacts of the pest animals are and the aims of your control program. You should talk with your neighbours so that you can coordinate your control measures to achieve better results.
You should form a detailed Integrated Pest Management plan that encompasses:
- Other invasive plants and animals in the area (you may achieve better results by focusing on a number of species)
- Monitoring (allows you to determine the areas of pest animal activity, pest animal density and provides a baseline to evaluate project success)
- Implementation (what control measures you will use to exploit the pest animals biology at various stages of the lifecycle)
- Prevention (what control measures you can use to prevent pest animal impacts and/or re-invasion)
- Evaluation and follow-up (has your plan worked?, what can be changed to make it more effective?, what follow up do you need to do to ensure that the impacts are managed in the future?)
