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Introduction
Pest animals
are a serious environmental and agricultural problem throughout
Australia, costing the Australian economy an estimated $720 million per
annum. In the Molonglo catchment, pest animals introduced since European
settlement have thrived on both public and private land. Foxes have
reached high densities in rural areas and sightings of goats and deer
have increased. Pest animals impact on our environment and economy in a
number of ways. Some species prey on native fauna and livestock, others
damage soils and groundcover through grazing or compaction with their
hooves; they are a vector for weeds and impact on the productivity of
agricultural enterprises. To help combat the pest animal problem in the
Molonglo catchment, the Molonglo Catchment Group has developed this Pest
Animal Information Pack to raise awareness of the issues caused by pest
animals, their presence and prevalence in the catchment and the various
methods to control them.
It is
important to point out what a pest animal is; most of us are used to the
term ‘feral’ when it comes to species such as foxes and rabbits. The
term ‘feral’ refers to something reverting to its wild state or existing
in a natural state (such as an undomesticated animal or a pet gone
wild). This terminology undersells the issues associated with species
such as foxes, rabbits and deer and, simply put, paints them as
introduced species that have gone wild. These species are Pest Animals –
that is, they either are, or have the potential to be, a serious threat
to native flora and fauna and/or the agricultural economy. It is also
worth noting that an animal does not have to be feral to be a pest
animal: domestic cats and dogs have been known to cause immense distress
to native fauna and livestock but are clearly not feral animals. In some
instances, native fauna species may even be considered a pest animal,
just as native flora have been recognised as invasive weed species e.g.
Cootamundra Wattle.
The list of
species discussed in the Molonglo Catchment Group’s Pest Animal
Information Pack is by no means exhaustive, but they are the species
that, in general, YOU can do something about in the course of day to day
activities and WE as a community are able to manage. The package gathers
together fact sheets developed by the Molonglo Catchment Group and other
organisations to give an overview of pest animals in the Molonglo
catchment. These species occur at varying densities within the catchment;
species such as rabbits and foxes are well-established while other
species, such as deer, can be considered an emerging pest in the
catchment. This information pack is designed to help you to identify
signs of pest animal activity on your land and make it easier for you to
carry out your role as a land manager/occupier in controlling pest
animals. Using the information in this pack will assist you to identify
potential control methods, improve the productivity of your land, be a
good neighbour and enhance our natural landscape.
The various
pest animals and invasive weeds occurring in the catchment should be
looked at in entirety and usually at a broad scale, by working with your
neighbours. By reducing the numbers of one pest animal, another may
increase, weeds are often introduced by disturbances caused by pest
animals, and pest animals often take refuge in weed thickets. For
example, foxes and rabbits may live in blackberry thickets. When
planning a control program look into methods to control the various pest
animal and weed issues on your property simultaneously. For more
information on the common invasive weeds in the Molonglo catchment,
please refer to the Molonglo Catchment
Group’s Weed Information Pack.
Acknowledgements
The operation
of the Molonglo Catchment Group is assisted through the Australian
Government’s Caring for
our Country initiative with the support of the
ACT Natural
Resource Management Council. This project has been supported by the
New South Wales Government through its
Environmental Trust. Thanks to the
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service,
South East Livestock
Health and Pest Authority and
Invasive
Animals Cooperative Research Centre for their assistance with
information and images for the project.
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