Donate
Donate
Donate

Seven fire ant essentials

We led the call for governments across the country to fully fund the complete eradication of red fire ants from Australia. Now we look at how the program can get the job done.
Facebook Linkedin X-twitter Envelope
[print-me target=".print-body, .print-title" do_not_print=".noprint"/]
Earlier this year we took US fire ant expert Dr Robert Puckett (right) across Australia arguing the case for full funding of the country’s red fire ant eradication program. Robert is pictured here with Biosecurity Queensland’s Scientific Services Manager, Dr Ross Wylie.

Federal and state governments look set to approve the needed boost in funding for red fire ant eradication. But without structural changes to the program it still may not succeed.

Over the past nine months we have led the call for every state, territory and the federal government to fully fund the complete eradication of red fire ants from Australia. 

We took the message to Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and won his support for the eradication program. We spoke with every state and territory government and most have now made their support known publicly.

Thanks to your support they listened when we took the lead in calling for $380 million over ten years to eradicate fire ants from Australia. We made fire ants a national issue and have achieved that goal.

But the final push to eradicate fire ants will be a long process, and to succeed it needs to capture the hearts and minds of the residents in and around the infestation areas south of Brisbane and it needs the confidence of all Australians.

Local governments and community clubs have expressed their concerns about what it might mean for parks, sporting fields and bushland reserves. Many industries have joined the call too.

 

Ramping up the campaign

Recently, people in Brisbane will have noticed fire ant fliers appearing in their letterboxes and newspaper and radio advertising and Facebook ads asking them to be alert and report what they see.

The eradication program has hired new staff, ramping up its ability to respond more quickly when fire ant nests are found and to conduct ongoing surveillance work. The program is no longer being held back by lack of funding or political support. The way is now open for a fully fledged campaign to eradicate fire ants from Australia.

 

Water saved, now let’s eradicate ants

When Brisbane was running out of water during the “Millennium drought” early last decade an independent commission was created and led the response – not a government response but a citywide effort.

The commission was so successful that it blitzed the target of reducing water usage below 140 litres per person a day to 126 litres per day. Water usage has never returned to its pre-drought high of 179 litres a day and the commission has evolved into a permanent statutory authority.

What can we learn from that response? The community of greater Brisbane – Ipswich, Logan, Redlands, Moreton Bay and Gold Coast city – will respond, engage with and support the fire ant eradication program if they are mobilised and inspired.

If the fire ant program is given more independence as a stand-alone body, and has a broader reporting requirement to its funders, the community and industry, it will have greater freedom to respond and engage with the community on a deeper level. To be successful the program must react as the infestation evolves but also pro-actively work through media, local government, community groups, industry and with new technology and social media to mobilise a community response.

 

Managing for eradication

We have just provided a report to the nine state and federal governments funding red fire ant eradication. The report suggests the essential governance elements needed to improve how the eradication program is run. It explains how to reposition management arrangements for the difficult job ahead and adopts a more open and inclusive model that builds community and industry trust.

Our report proposes these seven essential elements of effective governance for eradicating red fire ants:

  1. Design an effective governance approach, including by consulting stakeholders and seeking the advice of experts.
  2. Ensure that the structures and processes provide robust oversight and accountability to funders, industry and the community.
  3. Make sure decision-making is transparent so that stakeholders understand the rationale for decisions and can have confidence in the program.
  4. Develop a comprehensive eradication plan that includes techniques, costings, assumptions, roles and responsibilities, milestones.
  5. Create an independent body to ensure the program is managed effectively.
  6. Involve experts from relevant fields for program design, advice and review.
  7. Make sure the community and industry is meaningfully engaged in the program.

A new response model is needed for the fire ant eradication program. Getting the program oversight and structure right will create an environment for success and build community confidence over the long term through both setbacks and success.

You helped us build a coalition supporting the call to action. Now, if the federal and state governments funding the eradication program embrace the needed changes, the same coalition is ready to support what comes next.

 

More info

Related Content

Independent review of red fire ants from Australia May 2016
Fact Sheet: Red imported fire ants
red fire ant
Seven essentials: fire ant eradication program recommendations

Hear from us when it matters

Your support to protect critically endangered and vulnerable species from extinction is vital. Together, we can ensure governments prioritise action on invasive species and protect our wildlife and iconic places.

The Invasive Species Council was formed in 2002 to seek stronger laws, policies and programs to protect nature from harmful pests, weeds and diseases.

The Invasive Species Council acknowledges the Traditional Custodians throughout Australia and their connections to land and sea. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

Our Work

About Us

Email Preview

Dear [your member of parliament],

[YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

Email copy here …

Email copy here …

Email copy here …

Email copy here …



Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your email address]
[Your postcode]


Your gift is a lifeline for nature.

Our protected areas are being trashed, trampled, choked and polluted by an onslaught of invaders. Invasive species are already the overwhelming driver of our animal extinction rate, and are expected to cause 75 of the next 100 extinctions.

But you can help to turn this around and create a wildlife revival in Australia.

From numbats to night parrots, a tax-deductible donation today can help defend our wildlife against the threat of invasive weeds, predators, and diseases.

As the only national advocacy environment group dedicated to stopping this mega threat, your gift will make a big difference.

Donate Today

Do you need help?

Accordion Content

A silent crisis is unfolding across Australia. Every year, billions of native animals are hunted and killed by cats and foxes. Fire ants continue to spread and threaten human health. And the deadly strain of bird flu looms on the horizon. Your donation today will be used to put the invasive species threat in the media, make invasive species a government priority, ensure governments take rapid action to protect nature and our remarkable native wildlife from invasives-led extinction, death and destruction.

Donate Now

If you are having technical trouble making a donation, please read this guide.

Please fill out the following form and one of our team will be in contact to assist as soon as possible. Please make sure to include any helpful information, such as the device you were using (computer, tablet or mobile phone) and if known, your browser (Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Safari etc).

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
This field is hidden when viewing the form
Drop files here or
Accepted file types: jpg, gif, png, docx, doc, pdf, txt, Max. file size: 10 MB, Max. files: 4.

    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]


    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]