Water BuffaloBuffalo are a large herbivore weighing between 450kg and 1200kg. They are found in floodplain, woodland and sandstone escarpment areas where there is surface water.

Buffalo in the Northern Territory (NT) are generally found only in areas that receive greater than 1000mm of rainfall each year.

Water buffalo were imported into the NT in the 19th century as working animals and meat for the remote northern settlements. When the early settlements were abandoned, the buffalo were released, where they became feral.

Buffaloes have grown in numbers and are a pest in the Top End, particularly in the northern floodplains.

Impacts

Feral buffalo can cause huge environmental damage through their movement and feeding.

On floodplains, buffalo move along pathways called swim channels.

These channels destroy vegetation and erode the soil by creating new drainage channels. Swim channels have caused saltwater intrusion into freshwater plains, particularly in the Mary River area. This has led to the loss of large areas of paperbark forest.

Buffalo have also helped spread weeds, particularly Mimosa pigra on floodplains.

Feral buffalo have reduced the nesting activity of magpie geese, which has a major impact on the natural ecosystem and for recreational hunters.

Other evidence suggests that buffalo grazing may reduce the nesting activity of crocodiles, which has impacts on wild crocodile populations and commercial crocodile practices.

More than 5,000 head of buffalo were exported from the Northern Territory in 2015, making it one of the best years in the trade's history.

Figures released yesterday by the NT Department of Primary Industry show the year was also Darwin Port's second-biggest on record for live cattle exports.

A small number of buffalo were shipped to Brunei (625 head), but the majority were sent to Vietnam (4,468 head), which is a market expected to grow even further in 2016.

Buffalo were fetching about $1.60 to $1.85 per kilogram on the live-export market in 2015 – or: $720 - $1920 [$1.60] - $832- $2222 [$1.85] making a whooping $11,100,000 [$11M]

Water Buffalo

Feral CamelsAustralia may now have the largest wild population of Arabian camels (Camelus dromedarius) in the world. They live in most of Australia’s desert country including the Great Sandy, Gibson, Great Victoria and Simpson deserts, as well as much of the semi-desert lands. Camels were first introduced into Australia in the 1840’s to assist in the exploration of inland Australia. Between 1840 and 1907, between 10,000 and 20,000 camels were imported from India with an estimated 50-65% landed in South Australia. There are now about 750,000 roaming wild in the outback.

Camels are highly mobile and may forage over 70 km per day. They form bachelor groups, which young males join after their second year, or family groups containing up to 30 adult females along with their one and two year old offspring. Feral aggregations of up to 500 individuals have been recorded in Australia. Camels have a low potential rate of increase with females usually giving birth to one young every second year, but they are long lived, up to 50 years, and have few mortality factors, other than by human intervention.

Camels are selective feeders with a preference for shrubs and trees rather than grasses. They can go for long periods without needing to drink, but during the heat of summer they will drink every day if water is available.

As large herbivores, camels add to the total grazing impact with damage likely to be most severe during and coming out of drought. They also destroy fences and are a potential carrier of exotic diseases that may be a threat to livestock. Camels are of concern to indigenous communities because they can foul water holes and damage ceremonial art and other cultural sites that are often associated with water holes.

The primary forms of management are trapping at water points, muster and shooting.

Fences that exclude camels but allow free access of native wildlife have been used to reduce their damage to key waterholes.

There is a rapidly expanding industry based on camels, primarily for game meat, although some are also taken for live export and for use in the tourist industry.

Feral Camels

Feral RabbitsTheir impact on primary industries includes:

Lost production (crops, pastures, and revegetation, horticultural or forestry seedlings),

Control costs, and Soil erosion, and associated impacts on infrastructure and waters.

Their impact on native ecosystems includes:

Competition for food and shelter, Selective grazing of preferred plant species, resulting in low or nil recruitment and

subsequent ecological change, Maintaining fox and feral cat populations, resulting in increased predation of native

animals and contributing to the extinction of some species, Soil erosion, and associated impacts on vegetation, wetlands and watercourses, and Off-target harm from rabbit control measures such as baiting and fumigation.

It is estimated that there are 10 million rabbits in Australia.

Environmental damage is now the biggest problem caused by feral rabbits in Australia. Feral rabbits compete for feed and shelter with native animals, but most environmental harm comes from how they graze, and because they help maintain feral predators. Rabbits have clearly contributed to the decline or loss of the greater bilby, yellow-footed rock-wallaby, southern and northern hairy-nosed wombats, the malleefowl and the plains-wanderer.

Their environmental impact is so great that competition and land degradation by rabbits are listed as a key threatening process under the Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act. A threat abatement plan for rabbits gives high priority to, amongst other measures, research into bio-controls, raising awareness and rabbit control.

Wild rabbits are now being valued by chefs across Australia. They are also used in the production of Akubra Hats.

Feral Rabbits

CowsAustralia is one of the world’s most efficient producers of cattle and was the world’s largest exporter of beef. The off-farm value (domestic expenditure plus export value) of the Australian beef and cattle industry was $17.87 billion in 2015-16 (ABS, MLA estimate).

Herd facts and figures:

71,659 businesses with cattle (ABS Agricultural Commodities 2014-15). 27.4 million head of cattle in Australia as of 2014-15, including 2.8 million head of dairy

cattle (ABS Agricultural Commodities 2014-15). 12.5 million beef cows and heifers one year and over as of 2014-15 (ABS Agricultural

Commodities 2014-15). The cattle industry involves 58% of all farms with agricultural activity

People in the industry:

Around 200,000 people are employed in the red meat industry, including on-farm production, processing and retail (MISP 2015).

How much is produced?

In 2015-16, Australia produced approximately 2.34 million tonnes cwt of beef and veal (ABS).

In 2015-16, 2.8 million grainfed cattle were marketed – 35% of all adult cattle slaughtered.

What is the value of production?

The gross value of Australian cattle and calf production (including live cattle exports) in 2015-16 was estimated at $14.3 billion (ABARES Agricultural Commodities June 2016).

Cattle are estimated to have contributed 25% of the total farm value of $57.8 billion in 2015-16 (ABARES Agricultural Commodities June 2016).

What is the effect of cattle on the native ecosystem? Grazing by livestock (mainly sheep and cattle) has irreversibly degraded many natural ecosystems in Australia. Consequently, stock are usually removed from public land when new conservation reserves are declared. The damaging effects of livestock on ecosystems such as rivers, wetlands and the alps are well known.

Cows

Indian Myna BirdOften described as "flying rats", or the "cane toads of the sky", the Indian myna is considered one of world's 100 most invasive species.

In the 1860s the Indian myna was deliberately introduced into Melbourne's market gardens to keep down insects.

Further releases followed in Sydney, Childers and Cairns, and like the cane toad, they spread quickly, with devastating implications for wildlife.

The Indian myna has the potential to spread avian malaria, damage fruit, vegetable and cereal crops. Common Indian Mynas can be an economic problem because they damage fruit and grain crops and their noise and smell can be annoying where they are in large numbers. Mynas can also spread mites and they have the potential to spread disease to people and domestic animals.

It builds large, noisy, communal roosts in suburban areas, including roof cavities, and can cause dermatitis, allergies and asthma in humans.

The Indian myna aggressively push nesting native animals from tree hollows [birds, possums and sugar gliders] destroying leftover nests, eggs and hatchlings. This behaviour is having the most impact.

Mynas reduce biodiversity by fighting for hollows with native birds like Rosellas, destroying their eggs and chicks and stopping them from breeding. Indian Mynas are capable of evicting even large birds such as Kookaburras and Dollar Birds from their nests. They also evict small mammals, like Sugar Gliders from hollows – which commonly means a death sentence for the Gliders because they have nowhere else to go. It is not uncommon for groups of mynas to mob other birds and mammals like possums.

"It takes up to 120 years for a mature tree to form a hollow, so it's a bit of a concern.

"The Indian myna can lay six eggs at a time, and they can breed three times in a breeding season, so that's the potential for 18 chicks in one year. Whereas the native rosella will lay four or five eggs and they'll only raise two or three chicks a year.

In ten years, 58,000 birds have been trapped in Canberra district alone. In 2006, it was estimated that there were 150,000 mynas across Canberra.

Indian Myna Bird

Horse/BrumbiesThe word brumby derives from “baroomby”; as the language spoken by the Aborigines in Queensland means “wild”. These horses live independently, roam and reproduce for years, the wide expanses of this country. Naturally, in Australia there is no horse. Now they are piled up tens of thousands. They spread to the tropical north and also in the mountains south.

Waler horse

Brumby wild horses are descended from breeds Waler, grown at a time when Australia was a British colony to serve in the British cavalry in India, but also used by the Australian Army during World War II.

Hardy horse

Brumbies combined a variety of breeds; particularly the Thoroughbred, Arab, the Cape horse (from the Cape of Good Hope), Timor Pony and perhaps a little Clydesdale or Percheron. It is a hardy horse with great endurance.

Pest in Australia

Brumby is considered a pest in Australia. Horses are introduced species that tries to overcome the Australian native animals and plants in national parks and nature and their number is out of control. Nowhere in the world now has so many wild horses as in Australia.

It is estimated that today the Australian continent wandering around 300,000-350,000 wild horses (almost 8 times more than mustangs in Nort America). While so they wander in the wilderness, its heavy hooves trampling the soft ground and destroying the edges of the troughs. When drought occurs, horses die of hunger or thirst.

Mass kills

In the actions of thinning each year kills thousands of these animals. One part of their meat is processed into food for humans, and from another part it is made a pet food.

Horse/Brumbies

Sheep

Sheep wool has an incredible, natural UV protection built right in, which helps to keep sheep and lambs from getting sunburnt.

Wool fibres are very durable and flexible. Wool fibre can withstand being bent 20,000 times without breaking. In comparison, cotton breaks after 3,000 bends and silk after 2,000 bends. Wool is a hard wearing and wool’s natural elasticity means that the fibres will stretch under pressure and "spring back" when the pressure is released, making wool the perfect filling for wool quilts.

Odour control - Wool has a permanent, natural resistance to microbial growth and odour retention. The reason is a combination of wool’s excellent moisture absorption, and the fibres’ uneven and negatively-charged surfaces. Odour-causing bacteria prefer the exposed, flat and positively-charged surfaces of synthetic fibre.

Australia produces the most wool in the world at a massive 284,000 tonnes a year.

Sheep are intelligent - not only can sheep recognize up to 50 other sheep faces and remember them for 2 years, but they can also recognize human faces.

Australia is the world largest exporter of sheepmeat, and is the world’s second largest producer of lamb and mutton (FAO). The off-farm meat value (domestic expenditure plus export value) of the Australian sheepmeat industry was approximately $4.83 billion in 2015-16 – up 2% on the 2014-15 period (MLA estimate).

In 2015-16, Australia produced 516,366 tonnes cwt of lamb and 196,040 tonnes cwt of mutton (ABS). The gross value of Australian lamb and mutton production in 2015-16 is estimated at $3.3 billion (ABARES Agricultural Commodities June 2016).

Sheep

Feral GoatsFeral goats now occur across 28 per cent of Australia. They can be found in all states and territories and on some offshore islands, but are most common in the rocky or hilly semi-arid areas of western New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. There are at least 2.6 million feral goats in Australia but numbers fluctuate enormously with drought, management programs and high fertility so it is very difficult to accurately assess numbers.

Feral goats have a major effect on native vegetation through soil damage and overgrazing of native herbs, grasses, shrubs and trees. This grazing can cause erosion and prevent regeneration. They foul waterholes and can introduce weeds through seeds carried in their dung.

Particularly during droughts, feral goats can compete with native animals and domestic stock for food, water and shelter.

Goatmeat is the most widely consumed meat in the world, mainly due to the few, if any, religious taboos limiting goatmeat consumption.

On a worldwide basis, more people drink the milk of goats than any other single animal.

Australia is a relatively small producer of goatmeat but is the world’s largest exporter of goatmeat. Australian goat slaughter in 2011-12 was around 1.63 million head (ABS). Traditionally, Australian bush goats (rangeland goats) and Boer goats are used for meat production. About 90% of goatmeat production is produced by rangeland goat enterprises. Goatmeat is extremely low in fat and a good source of protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. In 2011-12, Australia exported 24,478 tonnes swt of goatmeat (DAFF). The value of Australian goatmeat exports in 2011-12 was around A$114 million FOB (ABS). In 2011-12, Australia exported 71,895 head of live goats (ABS). The largest markets for Australian live goats are Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (ABS 2011-12). Live goat exports were valued at A$9.65 million in 2011-12 (ABS)

Mohair comes from the Angora goat while Cashmere comes from the Cashmere goat.

The Goat Milk industry remains small; The fresh milk is mainly supplied as a health product to people intolerant of cow's milk and those suffering from bronchial and asthmatic conditions. It has also recently become more popular as a gourmet milk, as cheese, yoghurt, soap, moisturisers and in fine dining restaurants.

Feral Goats

Feral PigsMedium-to-high densities of feral pigs are most prevalent in western and northern NSW. They prefer wetlands, floodplains and watercourses. About 30 million hectares in NSW is free of feral pigs with around 10 per cent of this area in national parks.

Feral pigs cause severe environmental degradation by:

feeding selectively on plant communities; creating drainage channels in swamps; eroding soil and fouling watering points with their wallowing; eating frogs, reptiles, birds and small mammals; spreading weeds and possibly disease.

Damage by feral pigs is estimated to cost Australian agriculture over $100 million a year. Feral pigs can kill and eat young lambs, compete with livestock for pasture and drought feed, and damage fences and waterholes. They are also a major potential host of a number of exotic diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease.

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feral pigs are a resource commercial harvesting provides an additional income to cash strapped farmers Australian feral pigs are free of foot and mouth disease which makes them suitable

for exporting to countries who consume wild boar meat Australia supplies 20-30 per cent of the total international trade in wild boar meat are regarded as one of the most important game animals in Australia economic resource for game meat, an industry worth approximately $20 million a

year the wild boar meat industry was created to ensure strict protocols are followed in

the processing of meat for consumers hunting of feral pigs is a lucrative tourist attraction, with hunters from around the

world regularly visiting Australia to hunt wild boar the local community benefits from dollars spent by amateur pig hunters assists farmers in the clean up of damaged / discarded fruit crops are an essential source of high quality protein to many indigenous communities

Feral Pigs

CarpCarp are a large freshwater fish native to central Asia. Introductions in many countries have helped to make carp the most widely distributed freshwater fish in the world. They are extensively farmed in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and are a popular angling fish in Europe. However, in North America, Canada and Australia, carp are considered a significant pest. They are called “Rabbits of the River”.

Carp are very versatile, and can live in a great variety of habitats including highly degraded areas. Over the past few decades carp have spread across most of south-eastern Australia. They are now the most abundant large freshwater fish in some areas, including most of the Murray-Darling Basin, and are thought to have contributed to the degradation of our natural aquatic ecosystems.

Carp are widely believed to have detrimental effects on native aquatic plants, animals and general river health, particularly through their destructive feeding habits

Reduced water quality: Carp contribute to poor water quality by uprooting vegetation and stirring up sediments during feeding, leading to increased turbidity. This in turn reduces light penetration, which can make it difficult for native fish that rely on sight to feed. Reduced light can also decrease plant growth, and suspended sediments can smother plants and clog fishes' gills.

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But according to Gippsland businessman Keith Bell - who has built a livelihood catching, processing and selling Australian carp to the world - the fish's reputation for tasting terrible is undeserved.

He says freshly caught carp need to come straight out of the water and go onto ice immediately.

"If that isn't adhered to that's where that muddy taste comes from. The muddy taste is actually the histamines within the fish. As the body temperature rises through stress the histamine levels get going, it gets into the capillaries of the flesh and 'hey presto' you've got that muddy taste.

If only more Australians could get a taste for carp and take up carp fishing as a pursuit, it might go some way to solving a major environmental problem, says Keith.

Carp

Crown of ThornsNative to the Indo-Pacific region, the crown-of-thorns starfish plays a vital ecological role in maintaining the diversity and delicate balance of the reef, as it feeds on the fastest growing corals, allowing slower growing coral species to form colonies. But when the poisonous starfish’s population booms to plague proportions, it is a significant danger to coral.

The first documented crown-of-thorns outbreak on the reef was recorded in 1962, with major outbreaks in 1978 to 1991, 1993 to 2005 and the present outbreak, which began in 2010.

According to research by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, coral cover on surveyed reefs has declined by about 50 per cent over the past 30 years. Crown-of-thorns starfish were responsible for almost half of this decline. The research estimates that if crown-of-thorns starfish predation had not occurred over the past three decades, there would have been a net increase in average coral cover.

When events like floods release large amounts of nutrients from land into the reef, water quality declines dramatically and if this occurs during the starfish’s summer spawning season, conditions are right for the starfish to develop, grow and survive at a much higher rate.

Crown-of-thorns starfish are one of the most aggressive reef-destroyers in the world. A single female can produce up to 120 million offspring in one spawning season, and these spiny invaders eat coral, weakening entire reef systems. They’re a serious problem in northern Queensland, and are likely to move south. (Source: The Conversation April 2017)

A major breakthrough for the programme was the development by James Cook University of a single injection cull method. Now a small single injection that produces an allergic reaction in the starfish, causing it to break apart and die within 24 hours, is used to cull the creature.

University of Queensland researchers have found a pheromone that the starfish releases that communicates with other starfish. At the moment, scientists from UQ are trying to mimic these pheromones to develop traps to remove the starfish from the reef before they reproduce.

Crown of Thorns

Feral PigeonsSporting

Australia’s domestic pigeon population — both feral and captive - is large and interconnected by frequent local and interstate movements. Pigeon racing, for example, involves releasing captive birds hundreds of kilometres from their homes only so they may find their way back. While most birds do navigate home, up to 20% will not return, of which some will join feral pigeon populations. Birds are also traded across the country and illegally from overseas. These movements, together with poor biosecurity practices, mean that captive pigeons can and do mingle with feral domestic pigeons.

Disease

In recent years, two notable infectious diseases have been found to affect our captive domestic pigeons: the pigeon paramyxovirus type 1 (PPMV1) and a new strain of the pigeon rotavirus (G18P). These diseases are notable because in captive domestic flocks they are both spectacularly lethal and difficult to control.

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In culinary terminology, squab is a young domestic pigeon, typically under four weeks old, or its meat. The meat is widely described as tasting like dark chicken. More recently, squab meat comes almost entirely from domesticated pigeons.

Usually considered a delicacy, squab is tender, moist and richer in taste than many commonly consumed poultry meats, but there is relatively little meat per bird, the meat being concentrated in the breast. Squab is dark meat, and the skin is fatty, like that of duck. The meat is very lean, easily digestible, and "rich in proteins, minerals, and vitamins". It has been described as having a "silky" texture, as it is very tender and fine-grained. It has a milder taste than other game, and has been described as having a mild berry flavour. Squab's flavour lends itself to complex red or white wines.

Native SpeciesAustralia and its neighbouring islands are the global epicentre of pigeon and dove (or “columbid”) diversity with the highest density of different columbids – an impressive 134 species – found in the region. Twenty-two of these native species are found in Australia alone, in just about every habitat. These native species play an important role in ecosystem functioning: they forage for and disperse seeds, concentrate nutrients in the environment, and are a source of food for predators.

Feral Pigeons

Feral CatsFeral cats threaten the survival of over 100 native species in Australia. They have caused the extinction of some ground-dwelling birds and small to medium-sized mammals. They are a major cause of decline for many land-based endangered animals such as the bilby, bandicoot, bettong and numbat. Many native animals are struggling to survive so reducing the number killed by this introduced predator will allow their populations to grow.

Feral cats can carry infectious diseases which can be transmitted to native animals, domestic livestock and humans.

Feral cats are the same species as domestic cats, however they live and reproduce in the wild and survive by hunting or scavenging. They are found all over Australia in all habitats, including forests, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands and arid areas. The map illustrates the estimated abundance of feral cats across the country.

Feral cats are predominantly solitary and nocturnal, spending most of the day in the safety of a shelter such as a rabbit burrow, log or rock pile. They are carnivores, generally eating small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects depending on their availability.

Feral cats are estimated to eat tens of millions of native animals each night in Australia. In Australia, cats have been implicated in the extinction of at least 20 mammal species and sub-species, including the lesser bilby and desert bandicoot.

Cats are widespread across the country, so it’s likely that their diet varies according to the local environment and fauna community – which might be affected by many factors, such as the amount of rainfall that an area receives or the native plant life.

Feral cats help themselves to a phenomenal number of species in Australia – 400 different vertebrates. This includes 123 bird species, 157 reptiles, 58 marsupials, 27 rodents, 21 frogs and nine exotic medium- and large-sized mammals. This is more than double the 179 species of animals that cats have been recorded eating on other islands worldwide.

We found that cats kill at least 16 globally threatened species and 12 others classed as near-threatened. This include mammals like the critically endangered mountain pygmy-possum and the brush-tailed bettong (woylie); the endangered northern quoll; as well as the critically endangered Christmas Island whiptail-skink and the vulnerable malleefowl.

Cats commonly feed on another widespread pest species: rabbits. Where cats ate fewer rabbits, the frequency of small mammals (rodents and dasyurids) in their diet increased.

Feral Cats

MiceThe house mouse, Mus domesticus, originated near the present border of Iran and the former USSR. Mice quickly spread to Europe and subsequently throughout the world. They were probably introduced into Australia by the early settlers and, like most introduced animals, took an immediate liking to the country. With an ability to live on a wide range of foodstuffs, mice were able to accompany people as they explored and colonised.

Mouse plagues can devastate crops and livestock

In 1993, Australia’s worst ever mouse plague caused an estimated $96 million worth of damage. The mice destroyed thousands of hectares of crops and attacked livestock in piggeries and poultry farms. They chewed through rubber and electrical insulation, damaged farm vehicles, and ruined cars and buildings.

Another plague in 2010/11 was almost as bad, affecting three million hectares of crops in the New South Wales central west and the Riverina, as well as parts of Victoria and South Australia.

In addition to the economic and disease impacts, the plagues can cause severe psychological distress for people living through them.

Even when mouse numbers are low, growers need to remain vigilant as mouse populations can increase rapidly as soon as the conditions are favourable and, with little warning, farmers can have a costly and escalating problem.

Mice

SparrowsSparrows are one of the five most common birds in Australian cities.

In Australia, like so many other countries, the house sparrow is one of the five most commonly seen birds in backyards and gardens. This is a result of intentional introductions over the past two centuries. Recent research shows just how much effort was made to introduce the species as an early form of bio-control.

The house sparrow and myna dominate many urban areas in Australia but, on account of their dependence on people, have mostly stayed in human-modified environments. They have apparently caused little damage to native species.

The first sparrows arrived in Australia in late 1862. They were shipped after a prolonged campaign led by Edward Wilson, editor of the Melbourne Argus.

Wilson had established the Victorian Acclimatisation Society, set up with the support of the Victorian government to import useful species. Sparrows, it was thought, could help the struggling agricultural sector.

Wilson and the Acclimatisation Society went to great efforts to transport birds from Europe. Birds were kept alive during the long voyage by sea and then acclimated to Australian conditions by being held in large aviaries in Melbourne (on the site that later became the Melbourne Zoo), before their release around the colony. This was a challenging enterprise and the value of a live sparrow arriving in Melbourne encouraged greater care on board the ships.

New research has uncovered clear documentary evidence that house sparrows arrived from India in 1862 and were breeding successfully in Melbourne before any arrived alive from England (in early 1863). This means it is highly likely that the house sparrows in Australia today are a genetic mix of Indian and European sparrows. The house sparrows in India were native to the subcontinent and are a different race of house sparrow from the one in Europe.

Sparrows

FoxesThe red fox may be the most destructive species ever introduced to Australia. For a start, it carries most of the blame for Australia’s appalling record of recent mammal extinctions.

In Australia it's estimated that foxes cause around 230 million dollars worth of damage each year and around 40 million dollars of damage is inflicted on livestock.

Since they were introduced for recreational hunting in the mid-1800s, foxes have spread across most of Australia. They have played a major role in the decline of a number of species of native animals and they also prey on newborn lambs. Control of foxes relies heavily on conventional techniques such as shooting, poisoning and fencing.

The fox has played a major role in the decline of ground-nesting birds, small to medium sized mammals such as the greater bilby, and reptiles such as the green turtle. While land use change is cited as one of the key reasons for decline in many native species, predation by foxes has also been a significant contributor to native animal decline and continues to undermine recovery efforts for threatened species as the malleefowl, the bridled nail-tail wallaby and the night parrot.

The fox causes significant economic losses to farmers by preying on newborn lambs, kid goats and poultry.

The fox could also act as a carrier of rabies, should the disease accidentally be introduced into Australia. Rabies mostly affects members of the dog family, but can also be passed on to humans, livestock and native mammals.

Pets

Currently there are 70 licensed fox owners in NSW but when those foxes die, no new licences will be handed out: effectively putting an end to pet foxes in Australia.

Foxes

DeerDeer are arguably the most charismatic of Australia’s invasive species. Long considered a welcome addition to the Australian environment, primarily as a highly valued hunting resource, deer populations have flourished under legislation providing for their protection. However, perceptions are changing, and deer are now recognised as among Australia’s greatest pest threats.

Like rabbits and foxes, all six deer species with recognised wild populations (Fallow, Red, Sambar, Rusa, Hog, Chital) were released into Australia for aesthetic and recreational hunting purposes during the 19th century. In recent decades their populations and distributions have increased dramatically, in some cases due to natural population expansion, and in others through human agency.

Many individuals were released or escaped into the wild following the commercial rise and collapse of deer farms between the 1970s and 1990s. This period also coincided with an increase in hunters deliberately and illegally releasing them into “deer free” areas (especially Fallow, Red, Chital). Together, these activities are considered responsible for over 90% of current deer populations in Australia.

Feral populations are now scattered throughout all states and territories, particularly in south-eastern Australia, where there are few areas unoccupied by deer. Bioclimatic modelling suggests that all deer species currently occupy a fraction of their potential distribution in Australia and have great capacity to expand, especially into northern Australia.

Evidence is revealing that some native plant species and ecological communities are being seriously damaged, primarily by browsing/grazing and antler rubbing. In the worst cases deer are altering the structure and composition of vegetation communities and disrupting ecological processes (especially in rainforest).

RecreationStates with the largest deer populations (VIC, NSW, TAS) give deer full or partial protection status and manage deer primarily for recreational hunting.

Effectively, the three south-eastern state governments hold that the desire of some citizens to shoot deer on public land for sport is of greater value than the conservation of our natural heritage and the burden imposed by deer on farmers. (Source: The Conversation 2013)

Deer

Feral DonkeysFeral donkeys were first brought to Australia as pack animals to replace horses, which had succumbed to native poisonous plants. Now numbering 5 million, they have been declared a pest, owing to their damage to vegetation and erosion of soil. Culling is mainly carried out by marksmen in helicopters, and experiments are being made in fertility control.

The donkeys seriously affect the environment they live in. Their presence can cause a wide range of problems: they may spread weeds by carrying seeds in their hair and faeces, they may damage vegetation through overeating, they may foul watering holes in the drought season, and they can cause erosion with their hard hooves. These damages, particularly those to the watering holes, have the potential to make native plants and animals locally extinct. The donkeys also affect local agriculture. They sometimes can over eat pasture grasses and destroy fences. They are also known to infect domestic animals with diseases.

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The Northern Territory Government is investigating the economic opportunities of farming donkeys, in response to ongoing enquiries from Chinese investors.

Demand for donkey products, especially donkey hide gelatin (ejiao), is on the rise in China and supply is reducing. Donkey skins — which can make a traditional Chinese medicine or snack called ejiao — were under even greater demand.

Australia currently has no donkey meat market but does have millions of feral donkeys in regional Western Australia, the NT and Queensland.

Feral Donkeys

Cane ToadsCane toads became pests after being introduced into Australia to control destructive beetles in Queensland’s sugarcane crops. Cane toads are capable of poisoning predators that try to eat them and they continue to spread across Australia. There are now roughly 200 million cane toads rampant across the country, many concentrated in northern Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Cane toads are native to South and Central America. They are extremely hardy animals and voracious predators of insects and other small prey. These qualities led to their introduction into Australia as a means of controlling pest beetles in the sugar cane industry in 1935, before the use of agricultural chemicals became widespread.

Cane toads forage at night in a wide variety of habitats. The toad is a ground-dwelling predator, primarily eating terrestrial and aquatic insects and snails. Toads will even take food left out for pets.

The toads can be accidentally transported to new locations, for example in pot plants or loads of timber.

Cane toads need constant access to moisture to survive. Instead of drinking, they absorb water through the skin on their belly — from dew, moist sand or any other moist material. If forced to stay in flooded conditions, cane toads can absorb too much water and die. They can also die from water loss during dry conditions. In Australia there are no specific predators or diseases that control cane toads.

The cane toad defends itself through poison and is poisonous, to varying degrees, during all its life stages. Adult cane toads produce toxin from glands over their upper surface, but especially from bulging glands on their shoulders — these exude venom when the toad is provoked. While some birds and native predators have learned to avoid the poison glands of adult toads, other predators are more vulnerable and die rapidly after ingesting toads. Toads contain poisons that act on the heart and on the central nervous system. The poison is absorbed through body tissues such as those of the eyes, mouth and nose.

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Cane toad meat is a healthy meat option that is high in essential omega 3. After the Gulp method, the dead cane toad can then be thawed, its legs removed and used in a stir fry or Asian-inspired salad.

Cane Toads

Black RatsThe black rat (Rattus rattus), or ship rat, is the species of rat that people will most often encounter in their houses in Australia.

Australia also has 60 species of native rodents, including eight species of native Rattus that evolved from from ancestors which arrived about a million years ago. Similar in size to black rats, these native rats have probably prevented the spread of black rats into natural areas, as has happened in New Zealand and Pacific islands which lack native rodents.

The black rat is now one of the most widely distributed animals in the world, perhaps only surpassed by humans and house mice. The live on every continent except Antarctica.

Rats are often unwelcome housemates because of the diseases they spread in their urine and faeces, including leptospirosis (Weil’s disease), salmonella, and E. coli. They are also hosts of ticks that transmit bacterial infections and induce allergic reactions.

The houses we live in provide rats with the secure, thermally stable homes they need to breed in. They eat a vast range of foods, and so can exploit our waste. The urban environments we have created are also relatively free of predators.

When conditions are ideal, black rats can reach very high numbers, giving birth to up to 12 young every five weeks or so.

Black rats are important hosts of the parasites Toxoplasmosis gondii and rat lungworm - both of which can be fatal to native wildlife and humans. Rats are also famous for carrying the plague, which arrived in Australia in the early 1900s but fortunately died out. Australia remains plague-free.

Rat damage infrastructure when building their nests.

Black rats are adept climbers and raid birds nests to prey on the eggs of small native birds, which may be one reason why these birds are uncommon in city parks. They also prey on other tree-dwelling wildlife such as small bats, skinks and spiders. (Source: The Conversation 2016)

Black Rats

Patterson's CurseWith its purple flowers, Paterson’s curse is one of the most conspicuous weeds of pastures, roadsides and disturbed land in Western Australia. It is supposedly named after the Paterson family of Cumberoona, New South Wales, who planted it in their garden in the 1880s. In other parts of Australia it is sometimes called salvation Jane, blueweed, Lady Campbell weed or the Riverina bluebell. Paterson’s curse is a declared plant (noxious weed) and is a target for biological control.

Paterson’s curse is an annual plant native to the Mediterranean region. It is a classic ‘garden thug’ having been introduced via mail order gardening catalogues in the 1840s, then rapidly invading agricultural land.

Paterson’s curse now covers millions of hectares of land in southern Australia (from WA to northern New South Wales) and is estimated to cost Australian sheep and cattle producers $250 million annually through lost productivity in pastures, control costs, and wool contamination.

It is highly competitive in pastures, replacing desirable plants without contributing to forage value. Paterson’s curse contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are toxic to livestock, particularly horses, though sheep can graze it for a time. Prolonged grazing of Paterson’s curse is harmful, even to sheep, because the alkaloids eventually cause liver damage, especially if stock consume large amounts of this weed in winter and spring and then graze on common heliotrope over summer.

Paterson’s curse is a winter annual herb that often becomes the dominant species in pastures. It is a prolific seeder that can produce more than 5000 seeds per plant per year. Large quantities of seeds may accumulate in the soil over several years. For example, a seedbank of up to 30 000 seeds per square metre has been reported. Seeds may remain dormant in the soil for up to five years.

Paterson’s curse is considered a weed because:

It reduces pasture productivity and is toxic to livestock. It can degrade the natural environment, compromising habitat values by crowding

out and suppressing native vegetation. Hay and grain infested with it fetch lower prices. It affects human health. Some people are allergic to the pollen and the rough hairy

texture of the leaves and stems causes skin irritation in people having close contact with the plant.

Patterson's Curse

Duck – MallardAn introduced species, mostly found in city parks and gardens, the Mallard occasionally occurs in the wild. In Australia, the species is considered undesirable as it hybridises and competes for habitat with the native Black Duck.

The Mallard is an introduced species and is not protected anywhere in Australia.

The introduced Mallard presents a particular danger to the Pacific Black Duck as they have similar food and habitat needs and so complete for survival. When these two species interbreed the feral Mallard strain is dominant and in successive generations the characteristics of our native Pacific Black can be lost. In addition the Mallard imparts unfavourable traits to these hybrids such as that they are sedentary birds and not able to survive the erratic (and ever more so) climate of Australia and so do not adapt as pure native duck species, which are nomadic especially in times of drought.

Resource

The most sought after duck for eating, the mallard provides a good amount of meat but requires a little preparation. Cut the breast in half and put them in a saltwater brine for at least a day. Coarse texture with a slightly gamey taste.

Duck – Mallard

Rainbow troutRainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are good to eat and a popular target for freshwater anglers.

Trout have been so successfully and so pervasively introduced into Australian freshwater systems that most people now think that they are native. The truth is that trout have caused the extinction or demise of many freshwater fish and invertebrate species, including some excellent angling fish such as the Murray cod, Macquarie perch and trout cod.

The introduction of trout to Australia was supported by Acclimatisation Societies which supervised the hatching and release of introduced trout without any consideration of its impact on native fauna.

The surprising thing is that trout have evaded the pest label, and despite abundant evidence that they are causing the extinction of native fauna, their continued existence in Australian rivers is supported by government agencies that release millions of trout fry every year.

Trout fishing is an important part of the tourism industry and many rivers are so well stocked with trout that there is no point in trying to remove them. On the other hand, few Australians realise that we enjoy trout fishing at the cost of excellent native angling experiences.

Rainbow trout

Western HoneybeesOf about 1,500 species of bees that live in Australia, this is the most recognisable and the one we take most for granted - the European honey bee. European honeybees were introduced to Australia in the 1820s and are now widespread as feral and domestic colonies in the temperate region, foraging for nectar and pollen from plants in at least two hundred genera. Many of the plant species visited by honeybees are among the nearly 1,000 species that have floral structures that facilitate pollination by birds or mammals.

The Western Honey Bee is a generalist pollinator, which means it shows little preference when it chooses flowers to forage on. It could visit (and potentially pollinate) almost any open flower in its foraging range. It is also adaptable to a wide range of environments and is capable of being “domesticated”.

Today, honeybees supply local food and pollination services to home gardeners around the world. Undomesticated honeybees are an important source of free pollination services to many farmers, while managed hives are one of the most common management inputs in commercial crop systems. Their close association with agriculture has prompted many to see honeybees as a symbol for “global food security”.

The honeybee is also essential to the future of our honey, beeswax and health industries (honey, beeswax and propolis are all valuable antibacterial substances), and it is a treasured visitor in productive home gardens, market gardens and school vegetable patches around the country.

There's one animal on the planet that can make or break our food supply. We rely on bees to pollinate most of our food crops.

Pest

For the majority of that time it was assumed this species could only be of benefit to Australia's natural ecosystems. More recently however, researchers and conservationists have questioned this assumption. Honey bees are an introduced species and may be affecting native fauna and flora. In particular, native bees have been highlighted as an animal that may be experiencing competition from honey bees as they are of similar sizes and both species require nectar and pollen for their progeny. Most research to date has focused on indirect measures of competition between honey bees and native bees (resource overlap, visitation rates and resource harvesting).

Western Honeybees

European perchPerca fluviatilis, commonly known as the European perch, perch, redfin perch, big-scaled redfin, English perch, Eurasian perch, Eurasian river perch or common perch, is a predatory species of perch found in Europe and northern Asia.

Redfin perch (redfin) were first introduced to Australia in the 1860s for angling, and are now widespread across much of NSW, ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern South Australia and the south-western corner of Western Australia.

However, they are also voracious predators of other fish and invertebrates, can destroy recreational fisheries in enclosed waters by building up large numbers of stunted fish and eliminating other species, and can devastate native fish populations by carrying the epizootic haematopoietic necrosis (EHN) virus. For these reasons, redfin are considered a serious pest and in December 2010 redfin were listed as a Class 1 noxious species in NSW.

Resource

Redfin are a popular sport fish with some anglers because of their fighting qualities and taste.

European perch

House geckoOnly introduced gecko in Australia. The Asian House Gecko is Australia's most successful invasive reptile.

Originally a tree-living species, Asian House Geckoes now thrive in human dwellings and buildings, where their feeding strategy is greatly enhanced by lights that attract insects, and flat walls and ceilings upon which prey animals (insects etc.) are concentrated.

Distribution

Initially confined to the urban coastal regions of the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland, Asian House Geckos have shown amazing adaptability and resilience and are now distributed south to Tennant Creek (Northern Territory), west to roadhouses in the Great Sandy Desert and in all Queensland ports from Cooktown to the Gold Coast. They have also been recorded in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, and have been intercepted in cargo and caught in buildings on Norfolk Island. The species appears to be continuing its progression southward with individuals captured at Broken Head, NSW, in 2004 and a reliable report of an established population at Coffs Harbour.

Are introduced geckos pushing out our native species? While they have been implicated in the exclusion of native house geckos, the extent of this is unknown.

One theory is that the hunting style of the Asian House Gecko gives them an advantage under bright city lights. These geckos are active hunters and can feed efficiently where insects congregate around artificial light. Native geckos, on the other hand, seem to forage where prey is more dispersed.

Indeed, Asian House Geckos are willing to use more brightly lit areas, whereas natives choose darker areas. While Asian House Geckos may have access to more insects in light areas, it’s possible that some native species and the house gecko are exploiting different parts of the “house gecko niche” and happily living together.

However, recent studies have shown that, as in other parts of their colonized range, Asian House Geckos have displaced native geckos from the house gecko niche and have spread into, and become established in considerable densities in, bushland habitat in the Northern Territory and in places such as Mon Repos Conservation Park in Queensland.

House gecko

European waspThe European wasp Vespula germanica is native to Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia. Our Australian records show that the European wasp first reached Tasmania in 1959, where it soon became well established. However, it was not until 1977 that the European wasp was first recorded on the mainland in Melbourne. By 1978 they were also known in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia, and are now firmly established in the Sydney area.

They are now firmly established in metropolitan Sydney, and are also found in Bowral/Moss Vale, the Blue Mountains, Narrandera, Deniliquin, Albury, Wagga, Coleambally, Griffith, Dareton, Junee, Forbes, Coonabarabran, Orange, Bathurst and West Wyalong.

European Wasps are found in large communal nests, normally only visible as a small entrance hole. They are normally built either underground or in cavities in walls, ceilings, logs or trees. The nests are made from chewed wood fibre. Most nests have an average of 5,000 – 7,000 wasps.

Foraging range for a European wasp worker can be up to 1.2km from the nest.

They are a nuisance to people’s homes and gardens, public places such as BBQ areas, cafes/restaurants and fresh food markets. They are in search of rich protein foods to feed their larvae, such as pet food, meat from BBQs and picnics as well as insects and spiders. European wasps have a negative impact on the environment due to the large number of insects and spiders they consume, this in turn puts pressure on our native insects and birds as food becomes scarce.

European Wasps are more aggressive than bees and will attack when their nests are disturbed. Unlike bees, wasps can sting more than once, and do not die after stinging. The sting causes a burning pain and swelling. If stings are multiple, a more severe systemic reaction may occur.

In some individuals, wasp, bee and ant stings can cause an allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), but this is relatively uncommon.

European wasp

Prickly pearFEW TODAY COULD imagine an Australia where dense, weedy fields of cactus plants choked 240,000sq.km – an area equivalent to the size of the UK – but it was once so, and it was one of the world’s great biological invasions.

Prickly pears (mostly Opuntia stricta) were imported into Australia in the 19th century for use as a natural agricultural fence and in an attempt to establish a cochineal dye industry. In the early days it was used as a clothing dye.

At that time, Spain had a world-wide monopoly on the important cochineal dye industry and the British Government was keen to set up its own source of supply within its dominion.

The expensive, red colour denoted wealth, royalty and power. It was, for example, the dye used at that time to colour the British soldiers’ red coats.

Captain Arthur Phillip’s “First Fleet” supplies included a collection of COCHINEAL-INFESTED prickly pear plants from Brazil and other places on his way to establish the first white settlement at Botany Bay in 1788.

By 1920, prickly pear was completely out of control, infesting some 60 million acres of land in New South Wales and Queensland. It was estimated at the time that the pear was spreading at the rate of one millions acres a year! No wonder prickly pear is in our history books as one of the most invasive weeds ever imported into Australia.

The moth Cactoblastis cactorum from South America, whose larvae eat prickly pear, was introduced in 1925 and almost wiped out the population. This case is often cited as an example of successful biological pest control.

There is a monument to the Cactoblastis cactorum in Dalby, Queensland commemorating the eradication of the prickly pear in the region.

In those early days, the red dye derived from cochineal insects was very valuable to the world’s exclusive clothing and garment trade.

Prickly pear

White Italian SnailsThere are over 1000 species of native Australian snails and slugs. However, most of the snails and slugs we find in our gardens are not natives.

Most snail species arrived accidently in Australia on potted plants, or stuck to packing cases, pallets and shipping containers. A few species seem to have been deliberately smuggled in to be bred and eaten as delicacies. Unlike other exotic species, there is no evidence to suggest that these 'immigrant' snails have affected the survival of Australia's native snail fauna. In fact, most of these introduced snails invade places only after humans have destroyed the habitat of native snails.

Over 65 land and freshwater snails and slugs have been introduced to Australia from overseas. But only a few of these have become pests.

The white Italian snail, Theba pisana, is probably the most well-known pest of Australian agricultural crops. Theba pisana, common names the white garden snail, sand hill snail, white Italian snail, Mediterranean coastal snail, and simply just the Mediterranean snail, is an edible species of medium-sized, air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae, the typical snails. Native to the Mediterranean, it was first found in Western Australia early this century and is now very common throughout southern Australia.

White Italian snails are an important pest of crops and pastures across southern Australia and may feed on young crop and pasture plants, particularly those grown on calcareous and highly alkaline soils including wheat, barley, oats, field peas, faba beans, canola as well as pastures. Emerging plants are particularly at risk. Barley, canola and pulses are most susceptible. It climbs the stems of cereal crops in late spring and summer and seals itself to the stems during dry spells. It is then harvested with the crop, clogging machinery and contaminating the grain. Theba can also destroy crops of dried fruit, lucerne, clover, peas, beans and oil seed.

White Italian Snails

On canola

Scotch thistleThe major means of dispersal for the Scotch thistle is by seed, but it can also be spread from severed root pieces. Scotch thistle is a prolific seeder and a single plant can produce more than 20,000 seeds.

Scotch thistle competes well with pasture resulting in pastures being overrun by this weed. It is not grazed by stock due to its dense spines. Animals rarely eat the plant.

In NSW, Scotch thistle is a major weed of pastures on the Central and Southern Tablelands and the Central and South-West Slopes. They are also present to a much lesser extent on the coast, Northern Tablelands and North-West Slopes.

They are typically found in cultivated areas, on disturbed ground such as roadsides, rocky slopes and wasteland. They are often a problem on non-arable pastures. Thistles tend to favour the more fertile soils and those sown to introduced pastures.

Thistles compete with pastures and reduce their carrying capacity. Rosette leaves smother desirable pasture species in spring reducing their early growth.

Dense stands of mature thistles create barriers that hinder livestock movement. Parts of the plant can break off causing vegetable fault and thus a loss in value for the wool. Thistles can cause injury to livestock and people handling the livestock or fleece.

Thistles are prolific seeders and can spread quickly if not controlled. The seeds have fine hairs which can easily attach to stock and clothing. The seed is often spread in hay, on machinery or vehicles. The seed can also survive the digestive tract of sheep. Once established thistles are difficult and expensive to control. Dense thistle populations can reduce property values.

Scotch thistle