Pest management and animal welfare

Pest control is essential for agriculture and environmental protection, but animal welfare is always a priority. 

Why do we need to control invasive species?

Controlling invasive and feral animals is essential for protecting agriculture, natural ecosystems, and biodiversity in Australia. Pest animals cause significant damage to crops, livestock, and native fauna. 

By controlling these pests, we:

• Safeguard pets and livestock: Feral animals like pigs and foxes, as well as wild dogs, attack domestic pets and livestock. They frequently cause injuries or fatalities.

• Protect crops and land: Feral animals can damage crops and habitat corridors as well as degrade pastures. This leads to hefty financial losses for farmers on top of reduced land productivity and harm to native ecosystems.

• Preserve native wildlife: Invasive animal species compete with native species for resources, damage habitats, and prey on native fauna.

• Prevent disease: Feral animals can carry diseases, such as ticks and mosquitoes, which affect both animals and humans.

What is ethical feral animal control?

Ethical animal control in Australia involves using humane methods to manage pest species while ensuring minimal harm to the animals involved. This includes techniques that prioritise quick, effective, and least-painful options, such as the use of traps, shooting, or biological controls, in line with national animal welfare standards. 

Landholders and pest controllers must follow codes of practice that promote safety, respect, and ethical behaviour. 

How do we know control is being done humanely?

Under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (BAM Act), land managers in Western Australia are legally required to control declared pests and are protected when doing so. However, they must also comply with the Animal Welfare Act 2002 and follow best practices. 

Breaches are taken seriously by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and the RSPCA.

Australia has developed national animal welfare standards, including a humaneness assessment model to evaluate pest control methods. Species-specific humaneness matrices assessments are available at PestSmart.

I want to help control feral animals. Where do I start?

Shooting

The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia WA is a good place to start if you are interested in shooting to control feral animals for wildlife conservation or to help farmers. 

SSAA members who participate in these programs have achieved a skill competency equivalent to professional shooter training and have committed to operating under a code of practice that demands safety, animal welfare and ethical behaviour. 

PHBG workshops

PHBG frequently hosts workshops on controlling various feral animals. Workshops are free and the content is aligned with current best practice. Workshops are a great way to meet people, ask questions and learn how feral animal control is done ethically. Follow us on Facebook, sign up to our newsletter or check our home page regularly to see what's on.

Formal education

Central and Regional TAFE runs a Certificate III in Rural and Environmental Pest Management. This qualification provides the skills and knowledge required to work in weed management and vertebrate pest management industries. Read more about the course on the Central Regional TAFE website.

On the use of 1080

1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) is a poison made from the toxin found in Gastrolobium pea plants, which are native to Western Australia. It's commonly used to control invasive pest populations and protect native wildlife, especially in WA, where many native animals have developed resistance to it.

Many people argue that the use of 1080 is inhumane. Unfortunately, there is a lack of comprehensive studies on the suffering caused to animals poisoned by the toxin, as well as on target versus non-target bait uptake and fatalities. However, scientists are working on developing more humane alternatives to 1080 that are equally or more effective. Some of these are already being used, such as sodium nitrate and PAPP.

It will take time for 1080 to be phased out. In the meantime, its use remains tightly regulated and strictly controlled to minimise risks to non-target species, including native wildlife and domestic animals. 1080 is not, and should not, be regarded as a 'silver bullet' for invasive species control.

Ultimately, no pest control method is perfect, and all lethal methods are likely to cause some suffering. PHBG believes the welfare of harmful invasive species shouldn't be prioritised over protecting agriculture and native animals. Our focus should always be on protecting our agricultural industries and ecosystems, while aiming to use the most humane and effective control methods available. 

Further reading: 

• 1080: a weighty ethical issue (Invasive Species Council) [PDF] 

• How can pest control be more humane? (RSPCA)