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World’s largest successful island-wide eradication of invasive pigs

11 06 2026

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.

Executive Director (Biosecurity) of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA), Georgie Cornish, presenting the official declaration plaque to the Chair of the Kangaroo Island Landcape Board, Andrew Heinrich. Some of the main people responsible for the successful program’s implementation are also in the photo, including Senior Biosecurity Officer, Dr Myall Tarran (centre).

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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Tags: biological invasion, biosecurity, eradication, invasion biology, invasion science, social licence, surveillance
Categories : agriculture, alien species, Australia, biodiversity, conservation, demography, ecology, environmental economics, environmental policy, governance, harvest, invasive species, investment, mammal, management, modelling, pig, planning, population dynamics, recovery, research, rural, science

Conservation paradox – the pros and cons of recreational hunting

20 02 2021

The recovery of species such as mountain zebra (*Equus zebra*) was partly supported by the economic benefits generated by trophy hunting. © Dr Hayley Clements

Through the leadership of my long-time friend and collaborator, Enrico Di Minin of the Helsinki Lab of Interdisciplinary Conservation Science, as well as the co-leadership of my (now) new colleague, Dr Hayley Clements, I’m pleased to report our new paper in One Earth — ‘Consequences of recreational hunting for biodiversity conservation and livelihoods‘.

My father was a hunter, and by proxy so was I when I was a lad. I wasn’t really a ‘good’ hunter in the sense that I rarely bagged my quarry, but during my childhood not only did I fail to question the morality of recreational hunting, I really thought that in fact it was by and large an important cultural endeavour.

It’s interesting how conditioned we become as children, for I couldn’t possibly conceive of hunting a wild, indigenous species for my own personal satisfaction now. I find the process not only morally and ethically reprehensible, I also think that most species don’t need the extra stress in an already environmentally stressed world.

I admit that I do shoot invasive European rabbits and foxes on my small farm from time to time — to reduce the grazing and browsing pressure on my trees from the former, and the predation pressure on the chooks from the latter. Of course, we eat the rabbits, but I tend just to bury the foxes. My dual perspective on the general issue of hunting in a way mirrors the two sides of the recreational hunting issue we report in our latest paper.

Wild boar (*Sus scrofus*). Photo: Valentin Panzirsch, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT, via Wikimedia Commons

I want to be clear here that our paper focuses exclusively on recreational hunting, and especially the hunting of charismatic species for their trophies. The activity is more than just a little controversial, for it raises many ethical and moral concerns at the very least. Yet, recreational hunting is frequently suggested as a way to conserve nature and support local people’s livelihoods.

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Tags: extinction, hunting, Livelihoods, Population size, poverty, poverty alleviation, recreational hunting, social licence, trophy hunting
Categories : Africa, agriculture, animal welfare, biodiversity, bushmeat, conservation, decline, demography, ecology, economics, ecosystem, environmental economics, environmental policy, ethics, exploitation, governance, habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, invasive species, mammal, management, poverty, preservationist, research, sustainability, threatened species

Offshore Energy & Marine Spatial Planning

22 02 2018

I have the pleasure (and relief) of announcing a new book that’s nearly ready to buy, and I think many readers of CB.com might be interested in what it describes. I know it might be a bit premature to announce it, but given that we’ve just finished the last few details (e.g., and index) and the book is ready to pre-order online, I don’t think it’s too precocious to advertise now.

A little history is in order. The brilliant and hard-working Katherine Yates (now at the University of Salford in Manchester, UK) approached me back in 2014 to assist her with co-editing the volume that she wanted to propose for the Routledge Earthscan Ocean series. I admit that I reluctantly agreed at the time, knowing full well what was in store (anyone who has already edited a book will know what I mean). Being an active researcher in energy and biodiversity (perhaps not so much on the ‘planning’ side per se) certainly helped in my decision.

And yes, there were ups and downs, and sometimes it was a helluva lot of work, but Katherine certainly made my life easier, and she has finally driven the whole thing to completion. She deserves most of the credit.

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