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meta-content-style-type: text/css meta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8 meta-description: For Minister Hunt's Signature -- Letters to Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers -- Seeking Comment on Revised Feral Pig Threat Abatement Plan title: NEW Feral Pig TAP 2016 – FINAL

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COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

 

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

 

 

Making of a Threat Abatement Plan – Section 270B

 

 

I, JOSH FRYDENBERG, Minister for the Environment and Energy, pursuant to section 270B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 have decided to make the Threat abatement plan for predation, habit degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (Sus scrofa)(2017), for the purpose of reducing the effect of the key threatening process as specified below:

 

 

The Threat abatement plan for predation, habit degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) (2017) will come into force on the day after the plan is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

 

 

Dated this 19th day of February 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOSH FRYDENBERG

 

Minister for the Environment and Energy

 

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Threat Abatement Plan for predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) (2017)

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Copyright. Commonwealth of Australia, 2017.

 

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The ‘Threat abatement plan for predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) (2017)’ is licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons By Attribution 3.0 Australia licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report, content supplied by third parties, and any images depicting people. For licence conditions see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/

 

This report should be attributed as ‘Threat abatement plan for predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) (2017)’, Commonwealth of Australia, 2017.

 

The Commonwealth of Australia has made all reasonable efforts to identify content supplied by third parties.

 

The contents of this document have been compiled using a range of source materials and is correct as at August 2016.

 

While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication.

 

Cover photo: A mob of 89 feral pigs (some out of frame) on the Wildman River floodplain, Northern Territory, 2013. Photographer: B. Salau.

Contents

 

Introduction

1. Threat abatement plan for predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) (2017)

1.1. Description of the process and its impacts

1.2. Managing the threat

1.3 Threat abatement plans

1.4. Implementation

2. Objectives and actions

Objective 1: Prioritise key species, ecological communities, ecosystems and locations across Australia for strategic feral pig management.

Objective 2: Encourage the integration of feral pig management into land management activities at regional, state and territory, and national levels.

Objective 3: Encourage further scientific research into feral pig impacts on nationally threatened species and ecological communities, and feral pig ecology and control.

Objective 4: Record and monitor feral pig control programs, so their effectiveness can be evaluated.

Objective 5: Build capacity for feral pig management and raise feral pig awareness amongst landholders and land managers.

Objective 6: Improve public awareness about feral pigs and the environmental damage and problems they cause.

3. Duration, cost and evaluation of the plan

3.1 Duration

3.2 Investment in the plan

3.3 Costings

3.3 Evaluating implementation of the plan

Glossary

Appendix A: Commonwealth legislation relevant to threat abatement plans

Appendix B: EPBC-Listed Species and ecological communities impacted by feral pigs

 

 

Introduction

In 2001 the Australian Government listed ‘Predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (Sus scrofa)’ as a key threatening process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

This listing initiated the development of the ‘Threat abatement plan for predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) (2005)’ which was made in 2005 and reviewed in 2011. This revised plan provides a national framework for feral pig management, research and education. It also aims to capture scientific research and other developments that have occurred since the first threat abatement plan was made, and capture changing priorities for feral pig management.

While this threat abatement plan aims primarily to abate the threat to key environmental assets (threatened species and ecological communities listed under the EPBC Act and other matters of national environmental significance), it also recognises that feral pigs have wider environmental impacts as well as social, cultural and economic impacts.

This document should be read in conjunction with the Background document, which provides information about feral pigs, their impacts on the environment, their economic impacts, their economic and social values, and their current management.

1. Threat abatement plan for predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) (2017)

1.1. Description of the process and its impacts

Feral pigs are found in all states and territories of Australia, particularly in association with wetlands and river systems. An estimate of the size of the nation’s feral pig population is difficult as numbers fluctuate widely in response to wet and dry periods, and availability of food and water. In warmer areas of Australia, feral pigs’ poor heat tolerance restricts their distribution to the vicinity of watercourses and floodplains. This factor is less critical in the forested parts of eastern and south-western Australia where they are more widespread.

Ecological parameters affected by feral pigs include plant species composition and succession, nutrient and water cycles, and water quality. Impacts can be direct, such as through predation and digging, or indirect, through long-term changes in species composition. Impacts may be seasonally influenced, and vary across Australia with different habitats.

Feral pigs are opportunistic omnivores and will consume animal material including small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, crayfish, eggs, and carrion; earthworms and other invertebrates; underground fungi; and all parts of plants including the fruit, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs and foliage. Feral pigs vary their food consumption to match seasonal changes in food availability and quality. They have a poor capacity to digest cellulose and relatively high protein requirements, therefore regularly supplement their diet with carrion and animal prey.

Habitat changes due to feral pigs include: destruction of plants, sometimes threatening the  survival of specific plant species through reduced or failed recruitment of new plants; changing the composition of plant communities; alteration of soil structure through digging and rooting; increased invasion and spread of weeds through spreading seeds via faeces or in fur, or creating suitable habitat through soil enrichment with urine and faeces or ground disturbance; reduced water quality through disturbance of riparian zones and bodily wastes; and creation of habitat suitable for plant disease vectors.

Feral pigs provide reservoirs for endemic animal diseases such as leptospirosis and brucellosis, which can cause birth defects, abortions and infertility in mammals. They may be vectors of exotic diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, should they ever reach Australia. They can spread exotic plant pathogens such as Phytophthora cinnamomi, which causes plant dieback, through soil movement on their feet and fur, and by passing viable spores in their faeces.

For further detail, consult the Background document.

1.2. Managing the threat

It is not possible to eradicate feral pigs from Australia with current resources and techniques, and it is unlikely to be possible in the near future, as they are so widely established. As such, the focus of feral pig management must be on abatement of the impacts unless they are in small isolated areas (e.g. islands) where eradication may be feasible. There are a range of control methods available for feral pigs including trapping, aerial and ground shooting, poisoning, and fencing. Other techniques, including the use of tracking dogs to detect and flush out (but not attack) feral pigs[1], coordination with commercial harvesters and habitat manipulation (e.g. reducing watering points and/or crop waste for feral pigs to utilise), can contribute to the control methods used.

Feral pigs are mobile animals that have a very high rate of reproduction, particularly in good conditions. Managing environmental damage due to feral pigs requires an integrated and coordinated approach, often across a variety of land uses including national parks, reserves and agricultural lands.

Best-practice management of feral pigs must involve threat abatement not only for identified threatened species but also for other native species that may be affected by feral pig predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission.

1.3 Threat abatement plans

This threat abatement plan sets out a suggested series of actions and strategies to manage the impacts of feral pigs across the nation, as well as providing a suggested timeline and prioritisation for activities. The actions are informed by the review of the previous threat abatement plan, new scientific research and developments, and input from feral pig experts.

1.4. Implementation

Under the EPBC Act, the Australian Government develops threat abatement plans and facilitates their implementation. The EPBC Act requires the Australian Government to implement threat abatement plans to the extent to which they apply in areas under Australian Government control and responsibility. Where a threat abatement plan applies outside Australian Government areas in states or territories, the Australian Government must seek the cooperation of the affected jurisdictions, with a view to jointly implementing the threat abatement plan.

The Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy will assist other Australian Government agencies and state, territory and local governments, national and regional industry and community groups towards implementing this threat abatement plan. By providing a national framework, this threat abatement plan will assist in the coordination and enhancement of relevant strategies and activities across affected jurisdictions.

This threat abatement plan provides a strategic framework for the management of feral pigs in Australia, namely to:

• manage feral pigs within policy, legislative and planning frameworks
• reduce the spread of feral pigs to new areas within Australia, including via illegal releases
• manage feral pigs based on the protection of values and assets
• build Australia’s capacity to address feral pig problems and improve feral pig management
• raise awareness and motivation among Australians to strengthen their commitment to act on feral pig problems, and
• monitor and evaluate the progress of Australia’s feral pig management effort.

The successful implementation of this threat abatement plan will depend on a high level of cooperation between landholders, community groups, local government, state and territory conservation and pest management agencies, and the Australian Government and its relevant agencies. Success will depend on all participants assessing feral pig impacts and allocating adequate resources through available funding channels, programs, etc. to achieve effective on-ground control of feral pigs at critical sites, improve the effectiveness and humaneness of control programs, and measure and assess outcomes. Various programs in natural resource management, at national, state and regional levels, can make significant contributions to implementing the plan.

This threat abatement plan acknowledges the principles for effective pest animal management enshrined in the Australian Pest Animal Strategy (http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive-species/publications/australian-pest-animal-strategy).

2. Objectives and actions

The overarching goals of this threat abatement plan are to prevent further species and ecological communities from becoming threatened or extinct due to predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs, and to improve protection for EPBC-listed species and ecological communities currently threatened by feral pigs. A reduction in the total number of EPBC-listed species and ecological communities threatened by feral pigs is also desirable but may be unlikely due to the extremely high and ongoing level of pig control this would require.

These goals can be achieved by improving our scientific understanding of the threatening process that feral pigs represent and its effects on native species and ecological communities, and improving management and control of feral pigs. To achieve these goals, the threat abatement plan has six objectives that were developed in consultation with experts in relevant jurisdictions. These objectives are to:

1.         Prioritise key species, ecological communities, ecosystems and locations across Australia for strategic feral pig management
2.         Encourage the integration of feral pig management into land management activities at regional, state and territory, and national levels
3.         Encourage further scientific research into feral pig impacts on nationally threatened species and ecological communities, and feral pig ecology and control
4.         Record and monitor feral pig control programs, so their effectiveness can be evaluated
5.         Build capacity for feral pig management and raise feral pig awareness amongst landholders and land managers, and
6.         Improve public awareness about feral pigs and the environmental damage and problems they cause, and the need for the feral pig control.

Each objective is accompanied by a set of actions which, if implemented, will help to achieve the goals of the threat abatement plan. Performance indicators (outcomes and outputs) have been established for each objective. Reports on progress against the objectives may be sought by the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy in years 4–5 for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of the threat abatement plan.

Objective 1: Prioritise key species, ecological communities, ecosystems and locations across Australia for strategic feral pig management.

The key purpose of this threat abatement plan is to address the key threatening process—predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs. It is therefore necessary to identify the important ecosystems, habitats and species that may need protecting through research findings, qualitative assessments and stakeholder/landholder discussions.

From the perspective of the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, the key species and ecosystems are those listed as threatened under the EPBC Act, for which feral pigs are a key threatening process. A list of EPBC-listed species and ecological communities negatively affected by feral pigs is at Appendix B.

The Department of the Environment and Energy has also attempted to provide some recognition in this threat abatement plan for species and ecosystems that are currently unlisted and do not trigger specific attention under the EPBC Act, but are at risk of becoming listed under the EPBC Act if feral pig impacts continue. Similarly, species, ecosystems and locations considered important for other reasons, or by other stakeholders (e.g. state-listed, culturally important, iconic) should also be taken into consideration when planning feral pig programs.

Identifying the locations of key species, ecological communities, and ecosystems under significant threat by feral pigs is an important foundation for Objective 1. Through knowing the key areas requiring feral pig control and protection, land managers can more effectively integrate and prioritise feral pig management into their management activities and, where necessary, seek long-term funding. It will also provide these land managers with information about what feral pig control actions they can undertake and how to measure the effectiveness of these control actions.

 

Objective 2: Encourage the integration of feral pig management into land management activities at regional, state and territory, and national levels.

Feral pigs are a serious pest and cause extensive damage to natural habitats as well as to agricultural industries. Feral pig management should be regarded as a standard component of land management. In encouraging the integration of feral pig management into ongoing practices by land managers, the intent is to increase recognition that the problem requires long-term mitigation rather than occasional periods of action. Long-term suppression of feral pig numbers will assist in reducing the pressure on threatened species and ecological communities affected by feral pigs and increase the resilience of these species and communities.

Feral pigs are highly mobile across the landscape in response to changing conditions, so cooperation between land managers in broad scale management programs will benefit threatened species and ecological communities as well as limiting the damage to primary production impacted by feral pigs, including cropping and grazing enterprises. A well designed control program will reduce the ability of feral pig populations to reach high densities during favourable conditions. Integrating a feral pig management program into the standard land management activities of a property may allow managers to seek efficiencies through combining activities. Some examples are provided below. All levels of government; regional groups such as Natural Resource Management groups, Landcare groups; state land service agencies (e.g. Local Land Services (NSW)); and local groups such as “Friends of...” groups are encouraged to integrate feral pig management into land management activities.

Objective 3: Encourage further scientific research into feral pig impacts on nationally threatened species and ecological communities, and feral pig ecology and control.

Further experimental research is needed to quantify the environmental impacts of feral pigs, particularly their impacts on threatened species and ecological communities. Specifically:

• the relationship between the number of pigs and the level of impact (within specific areas and ecosystems) needs to be quantified where possible, to help land managers decide how much control effort is needed
• the impacts of feral pigs in environments where they are abundant including temperate inland river/wetland complexes. It is noted some research has been conducted already in the Wet Tropics and sub-alpine peat bogs
• understanding the landscape factors, and interactions between these landscape factors, that drive feral pigs’ ecology and their interactions/impacts with the environment. This includes understanding how feral pigs use a variety of habitats or microhabitats in a landscape, and research into their transient movements following wet seasons or inland water flows (e.g. Channel Country), and
• the development of indicators for how and when to undertake feral pig control work for a particular region or ecosystem. These indicators need to include triggers related to space and time, and may be developed as part of the research described above.

Importantly, further research should be undertaken into the effectiveness of feral pig control methods. The results of this research need to be communicated to land managers so that they can adopt these methods and achieve better outcomes for threatened species and ecological communities. Collaborative applied research projects may allow specific knowledge gaps to be targeted and filled, and bring additional benefits of knowledge exchange and connection.

Understanding and quantifying the environmental impacts of feral pigs on threatened species and ecological communities works towards the goals of the threat abatement plan, by providing a better understanding of how feral pigs can be controlled, or how other measures can be taken to lessen the impact of feral pigs. Understanding the potential opportunities for range expansion and population growth and therefore impacts across all areas of Australia, particularly south-eastern Australia, will also be important.

Objective 4: Record and monitor feral pig control programs, so their effectiveness can be evaluated.

Feral pig control programs need to be recorded and monitored, where possible, so that their effectiveness can be evaluated. National recording of this monitoring data should be encouraged, as it allows state and territory agencies and other stakeholders/land managers across Australia to find out where and when feral pig control programs are carried out, how effective they are, and increases opportunities for collaborative control efforts. An existing platform that fulfils many of these functions is FeralPigScan (www.feralscan.org.au/feralpigscan/). FeralPigScan allows recording and mapping of feral pigs sightings and damage, as well as feral pig control activities occurring in local community areas. The data recorded is available to the community to help decide where to undertake control, and coordinate with neighbours.

 

Objective 5: Build capacity for feral pig management and raise feral pig awareness amongst landholders and land managers.

Building capacity amongst landholders and land managers will enable them to undertake feral pig management more effectively and confidently. Raising awareness of feral pigs and their environmental impacts amongst landholders and managers will also increase their support for, and participation in, management and control measures. Measures for achieving this will include effectively communicating the outcomes of research.

Building capacity in feral pig management links to the goals of the threat abatement plan by providing support for landholders protecting threatened species and ecological communities.

There are many diverse views within the broader community, including Indigenous communities, on the value of feral pigs, and these may also vary within groups over time or location (See Background document for detail). Further understanding on how these values may be respected while also undertaking appropriate feral pig management is needed.

It is also important to recognise the significant expertise some land managers, including Indigenous land managers, have from many years of on-the-ground experience managing feral pigs, and creating opportunities for the sharing, exchange and capturing of this knowledge.

 

Objective 6: Improve public awareness about feral pigs and the environmental damage and problems they cause.

Most Australians now live in urban or semi-urban areas. They generally do not see feral pigs and are rarely confronted by the damage and problems they cause. Consequently, most Australians lack awareness of the feral pig problem, and may have no concept of the need for feral pig control. It is important to improve public awareness about feral pigs and the environmental damage and problems they cause, and the need for effective feral pig control programs, to ensure there is lasting public support for management and research. This includes emphasising the limited effectiveness of uncoordinated recreational hunting on long-term, broad-scale feral pig control.

Feral pigs also impact on primary production through predation on livestock, damage to crops and through harbouring diseases that may affect livestock. These diseases may also affect humans and secondary impacts from feral pigs, such as water quality in supply catchments, can also cause human health issues. While these are not the focus of this threat abatement plan, educating people about these issues can lend support to feral pig control for biodiversity outcomes.

Indigenous communities hold a range of values for feral pigs that are explored in some detail in the Background document.

Feral pigs can be highly mobile, taking advantage of changes in environmental conditions or changes in land management. The deliberate movement of feral pigs by people may also be a contributing factor to their dispersal and abundance. Members of the public should be encouraged to report new populations or significant changes in abundances of feral pigs to assist with control actions, and to come forth with evidence that may assist agencies take action against individuals who deliberately take feral pigs captive and release them elsewhere.

 

3. Duration, cost and evaluation of the plan

This threat abatement plan provides guidance to identify priority areas and undertake actions targeted at these areas. Investment in many of the actions listed in this threat abatement plan will be determined by the level of resources that stakeholders commit to managing the problem.

Budgetary and other constraints may affect the achievement of the objectives of this threat abatement plan and, as knowledge changes, proposed actions may be modified over the life of this threat abatement plan. Australian Government funds may be available to implement key national environmental priorities, such as relevant actions listed in this threat abatement plan, and actions identified in regional natural resource management plans that are consistent with this threat abatement plan. Achievement of the overarching goal of this threat abatement plan will require ongoing management beyond the life of the threat abatement plan. Ongoing support by all partners is therefore essential.

3.1 Duration

This plan reflects the fact that the threat abatement process will be ongoing, as there is no possibility of nationally eradicating feral pigs in the life of this plan. The plan lays out measures that should be taken in the next five years to reduce the impact from the key threatening process of predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs. Within the life of this threat abatement plan the focus is on suppressing and managing the impacts of feral pigs in targeted areas where they pose the greatest threat to biodiversity.

Threat abatement plans have a statutory review point at intervals of not longer than five years. Depending on the degree of implementation and the success of that implementation, some or many of the objectives and actions in this plan may be varied following this review.

3.2 Investment in the plan

Investment in many of the threat abatement plan actions will be determined by the level of resources that stakeholders commit to management of the problem. The Commonwealth is committed, via the EPBC Act, to implement the threat abatement plan to the extent to which it applies in Commonwealth areas. However, it should be noted that the Australian Government is unable to provide funding to cover all actions in this threat abatement plan across all of Australia and requires financial and implementation support from stakeholders. Partnerships amongst and between governments, non-government organisations, community groups and individuals will be key to successfully delivering significant reductions in the threats posed by feral pigs.

3.3 Costings

Outlined below are some estimates of costs of implementation of the actions within the plan. They have been obtained from multiple agencies and individuals actively engaged in feral pig control; in some instances more than one costing has been provided for an activity. Costings have been placed in this section instead of against each objective because it is difficult to fully cost the implementation of each action because of unknown variables. In particular, research or field project costs are going to be highly variable dependent on the subject and location. A more remote location, or one with difficult access, will cost more than an accessible site. Other actions are contingent on particular prior actions (e.g. identification of high priority sites) and cannot be accurately costed until the prior action is undertaken. What is presented here are estimates of different elements to actions within the plan to provide a guide to governments, researchers, land managers, island owners, community and others when considering what actions they may be able to implement.

Anyone looking to implement an action is strongly recommended to undertake their own budget exercise for their particular circumstances and the outcomes sought.

 

This threat abatement plan provides a framework for undertaking targeted priority actions. Budgetary and other constraints may affect the achievement of the objectives of this plan, and as knowledge changes, proposed actions may need to be modified over the life of the plan. Australian Government funds may be available to implement key national environmental priorities, such as relevant actions listed in this plan and actions identified in regional natural resource management plans.

3.3 Evaluating implementation of the plan

In many situations it may be difficult to assess directly the effectiveness of the plan in abating the impacts of feral pigs on Australia’s biodiversity. However, performance indicators have been provided against each of the objectives to provide an indication of the level of threat abatement that has been achieved.

Measurements in the improvement of threatened species populations or conditions can be monitored, particularly where the primary threat is feral pig predation (e.g. percentage of marine turtle nests not preyed upon and hatching successfully). However, in many situations, feral pig management is only an element of a complete recovery plan, so being able to accurately assess impact of feral pig control may be difficult. Individual feral pig control programs with comprehensive monitoring may be able to record recoveries in threatened species populations.

Glossary

Appendix A: Commonwealth legislation relevant to threat abatement plans

The following extracts from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000, which are relevant to the making of threat abatement plans, are provided for information only, and are not legal documents.

 

Content of threat abatement plans—Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

 

Section 271 Content of threat abatement plans

(1) A threat abatement plan must provide for the research, management and other actions necessary to reduce the key threatening process concerned to an acceptable level in order to maximise the chances of the long-term survival in nature of native species and ecological communities affected by the process.

(2) In particular, a threat abatement plan must:

(a) state the objectives to be achieved; and

(b) state criteria against which achievement of the objectives is to be measured; and

(c) specify the actions needed to achieve the objectives; and

(g) meet prescribed criteria (if any) and contain provisions of a prescribed kind (if any).

(3) In making a threat abatement plan, regard must be had to:

(a) the objects of this Act; and

(b) the most efficient and effective use of the resources that are allocated for the conservation of species and ecological communities; and

(c) minimising any significant adverse social and economic impacts consistently with the principles of ecologically sustainable development; and

(d) meeting Australia’s obligations under international agreements between Australia and one or more countries relevant to the species or ecological community threatened by the key threatening process that is the subject of the plan; and

(e) the role and interests of Indigenous people in the conservation of Australia’s biodiversity.

(4) A threat abatement plan may:

(a) state the estimated duration and cost of the threat abatement process; and

(b) identify organisations or persons who will be involved in evaluating the performance of the threat abatement plan; and

(c) specify any major ecological matters (other than the species or communities threatened by the key threatening process that is the subject of the plan) that will be affected by the plan’s implementation.

(5) Subsection (4) does not limit the matters that a threat abatement plan may include.

 

Section 274 Scientific Committee to advise on plans

(1) The Minister must obtain and consider the advice of the Scientific Committee on:

(a) the content of recovery and threat abatement plans; and

(b) the times within which, and the order in which, such plans should be made.

(2) In giving advice about a recovery plan, the Scientific Committee must take into account the following matters:

(a) the degree of threat to the survival in nature of the species or ecological community in question;

(b) the potential for the species or community to recover;

(c) the genetic distinctiveness of the species or community;

(d) the importance of the species or community to the ecosystem;

(e) the value to humanity of the species or community;

(f) the efficient and effective use of the resources allocated to the conservation of species and ecological communities.

(3) In giving advice about a threat abatement plan, the Scientific Committee must take into account the following matters:

(a) the degree of threat that the key threatening process in question poses to the survival in nature of species and ecological communities;

(b) the potential of species and ecological communities so threatened to recover;

(c) the efficient and effective use of the resources allocated to the conservation of species and ecological communities.

 

Section 279 Variation of plans by the Minister

(1) The Minister may, at any time, review a recovery plan or threat abatement plan that has been made or adopted under this Subdivision and consider whether a variation of it is necessary.

(2) Each plan must be reviewed by the Minister at intervals of not longer than 5 years.

(3) If the Minister considers that a variation of a plan is necessary, the Minister may, subject to subsections (4), (5), (6) and (7), vary the plan.

(4) The Minister must not vary a plan, unless the plan, as so varied, continues to meet the requirements of section 270 or 271, as the case requires.

(5) Before varying a plan, the Minister must obtain and consider advice from the Scientific Committee on the content of the variation.

(6) If the Minister has made a plan jointly with, or adopted a plan that has been made by, a State or self-governing Territory, or an agency of a State or self-governing Territory, the Minister must seek the cooperation of that State or Territory, or that agency, with a view to varying the plan.

(7) Sections 275, 276 and 278 apply to the variation of a plan in the same way that those sections apply to the making of a recovery plan or threat abatement plan.

 

Content of threat abatement plans—Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2000

Part 7 Species and communities

Regulation 7.12. Content of threat abatement plans.

For paragraph 271 (2) (g) of the Act, a threat abatement plan must state:

(a) any of the following that may be adversely affected by the key threatening process concerned:

(i) listed threatened species or listed threatened ecological communities;

(ii) areas of habitat listed in the register of critical habitat kept under section 207A of the Act;

(iii) any other native species or ecological community that is likely to become threatened if the process continues; and

(b) in what areas the actions specified in the plan most need to be taken for threat abatement.

Appendix B: EPBC-Listed Species and ecological communities impacted by feral pigs

The following species and ecological communities are listed as threatened under the EPBC Act. They have been extracted from the Department of the Environment and Energy’s Species Profile and Threats (SPRAT) database after being identified as threatened or potentially threatened by feral pigs. The SPRAT database is compiled using data from multiple sources, including state and territory conservation agencies, research organisations and individual researchers.

 

 

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[1] Regulations on the use of dogs in hunting vary in each jurisdiction. Nationally agreed Standard Operating Procedures and Codes of Conduct regarding feral pig control and some state legislation (e.g. Victoria) dictate that use of dogs must be restricted to detecting and flushing out feral pigs, and that dogs must not be encouraged nor allowed to attack feral pigs.

[2] The ‘Grouping’ field is not strictly taxonomic, and is designed to allow people to find plants and animals of interest under common names/labels rather than under taxonomic labels.