Incredible before and after shots show a major triumph in fight against $100 million problem

Yahoo

05-04-2025

​Feral pigs are one of Australia's worst introduced threats, unleashing an estimated $100 million economic burden on Australia's agricultural sector every year.
Causing serious crop damage, feral pigs also kill livestock and compete with numerous native species. Their impact is felt by both farmers and conservationists, and the species also contributes to the spread of disease. In NSW, where it's estimated feral pigs occupy 60 percent of the state, the issue is particularly dire.
While it's generally accepted that feral pigs will never be completely eradicated in Australia — from the mainland at least — pockets of the country have managed to drastically shrink their numbers. In Yetman, on the NSW Northern Tablelands, 1,243 were culled last year across two properties occupying 1,900 hectares, through a combination of aerial shooting, trapping and baiting programs.
Incredible before and after pictures show a vast improvement in vegetation growth along a dam after the pigs' removal. A spokesperson for the Local Land Services (LLS), the Department of Primary Industries division that manages feral pigs, said the pictures show efforts are working.
"These pictures highlight the results of ongoing, coordinated feral pig control and a reduction in the number of pigs in the area," they told Yahoo News Australia. "The pictures themselves are a before and after shot of a farm dam. The after shows a lot less damage from feral pigs and increased vegetation growth in the area."
Primary producers Jack Pearlman and Rowan Wood joined forces with LLS from February to September last year to manage populations in the area, which included 98 trapping days.
Jack said he'd never have suspected he had so many feral pigs on his property, until he consistently caught pigs in traps every day. "It's labour-intensive work but ... [it] showed me the impact you can achieve through longer control programs," he said.
"What's scary is that they're still around, and if we didn't do these control programs or receive the support from LLS, we wouldn't have known how large the problem was until it was too late."
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Last month an additional 2,431 pigs were culled as part of a large-scale aerial operation that targeted 78,711 hectares across 41 private properties in Yetman and Wallangra. A land of steep gorges and open croplands, the region has seen a rise in feral pig activity in recent years.
Landholders had previously reported issues such as tracks, digging, wallows, and damage to fences, as well as harm to crops, hay and stored grain caused by the pigs. But Rowan observed fewer pigs and less visible damage this harvest compared to previous years. He said the damage they can do to crops "is massive" when they group.
"They can wreck it in a week," he said. "If you turn your back for just six months, that's all it takes for their numbers to spiral out of control."
Conservations say the impact of feral pigs in Australia can't be understated, but in certain areas extermination efforts are having real successes. In a huge win, authorities now believe they have effectively eliminated pigs from Kangaroo Island, where they previously ran amok in plague proportions.
Once over 5,000 of the introduced pests roamed Kangaroo Island in South Australia, but there are now thought to be virtually none left. During the horror 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires, which tore across more than half of the island, it's believed feral population pig numbers were also reduced by an astonishing 90 per cent — an unexpected but welcomed outcome.
The president of the Australian Pig Doggers and Hunters Association (APDHA), Ned Makin told Yahoo last year how the country's hunters, farmers and regional landowners are desperately calling for a more nationalised approach. He believes pig population numbers have surged to as high as 40 or 50 million.
Makin said that in 2024, hunters had eradicated over four million feral pigs. He said the figure alone debunks official government statistics which suggest there are 3.5 million of the pests nationally.
Largely, the onus has fallen on locals and landowners in affected areas to eliminate the non-native species, which Makin likened to rodents, in that they are extremely prolific breeders, clever, adaptable, and eat virtually everything. He suggested the country could benefit from a subsidised hunter's scheme, which may in turn entice others to join the cause.
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