Just over two years ago I reported the ‘likely’ eradication of feral pigs from Australia’s third-largest (4,405 km2) island — Kangaroo Island. I indicated ‘likely’ because the program still required the proof-of-eradication phase to be completed before an official declaration could be made.
Yesterday I had the immense honour to take part in the official declaration ceremony held on Kangaroo Island near Karatta in the island’s southwest.
I can’t begin to emphasise enough how monumental this outcome is for biodiversity conservation, not just for South Australia, or even Australia, but globally.
This is without a doubt the largest island eradication of pigs anywhere in the world. Considering that most eradication (or even density-reduction) programs fail, the success is even more outstanding.
Feral pigs are identified as a ‘Key Threatening Process‘ under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. They are also the fifth-costliest single species in the country, with only cats, rabbits, fire ants, and ragweed engendering higher costs.
I am also taking some personal pride in the outcome because I had a small part to play. One dreary Sunday morning back in 2022, the head of PIRSA’s Invasive Species Unit Dr Brad Page rang me with an urgent request. “Corey”, he said without much preamble, “I need a model to tell me how much it would cost to get rid of pigs on Kangaroo Island, and I need it by this afternoon”.
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