Pest Animals
Council’s Biosecurity Plan identifies the high priority pest animals within the Burdekin Shire area as:
Council’s support programs for landholders to assist with controlling pest animals are available on the Council's Services and Subsidies web page.
Feral pigs
Feral pigs can be found throughout the Shire.
They are described as:
- Typically smaller, leaner and more muscular than the domestic pig, with well developed shoulders and neck, and smaller shorter hindquarters
- Snout and tusks are longer and larger, tail is straighter, ears are smaller and mostly pricked, back is much narrower that that of a domestic pig
- Body is usually covered in sparse, coarse hair
- Coat is usually black, bluff or black-and-white spotted
Local impacts include damage to crops, pasture, property and native habitat. Pigs dig and root up the ground in mangroves and around swamps, preying on crabs, invertebrates, small mammals and turtles as well as the eggs and young of ground nesting birds and reptiles.
They cause severe economic losses to the sugar and horticultural industries and dig up large area of pastoral lands causing erosion and degradation by weed invasion.
Council’s management activities for feral pigs include individual and coordinated 1080 baiting programs, coordinated shoots, and the loan of traps and hog hoppers.
Further information is available on the Queensland Government Business Queensland's Feral Pig web page.
Wild Dogs
The term ‘wild dogs’ refers to purebred and hybrid dingoes as well as domestic dogs that now live in the wild.
Wild dogs are common across the Burdekin.
Dingoes are described as:
- Being up to 60cm tall, weight up to 25kg
- Coat is usually red, ginger or sandy yellow, though can also be pure white, black and tan, or solid black.
- Skull is heavily boned
- Teeth are larger than those of domestic dogs
- Body is naturally lean
- Ears are large, pricked
- Feet are white
- Tail has a white tip
They are found in varied habitats and use roads, creeks and fencelines as travel ways with higher activity in autumn, which is mating season.
Local impacts include muscle damage to young cattle following an attack, other targets include poultry and domestic pets. Sugar cane water fluming and trickle tape in orchards is often destroyed when they are searching for small prey or water.
Council’s management activities for wild dogs/dingoes include individual and coordinated 1080 baiting programs, coordinated shoots, support for hire of trappers and a pelt bounty.
Further information is available on the Queensland Government Business Queensland's Wild dog and Dingo web pages.
Chital Deer
Chital deer can be found in sections throughout the Shire.
Unlike the above species, chital deer are considered either farmed or feral. Farmed deer are kept on a property within a deer-proof fence. However, if the deer escape the property they are kept on, they are deemed to be feral and subject to control activities.
They are described as:
- Relatively small deer species, with stags standing about 86 cm at shoulder and weighing up to 90 kg, hinds smaller and weighing about 45 kg
- Coat varies from rusty red to dark brown, with permanent white spots in broken lines along body and dark dorsal stripe along spine
- Throat is white and is a prominent distinguishing feature
- Inner legs, stomach and under tail are also white to beige
- Tail is larger than those on most other deer
- Stags carry three-tined antlers on long, upright beam, usually 55-70 cm long, but up to 90 cm.
Local impacts include eating the young sugar cane shoots and causing traffic hazards.
Council undertook an investigation into chital deer in the Burdekin, mainly on Rita Island, in 2016. The report from Feralfix is available in the related documents section
Further information is available on the Queensland Government Business Queensland's Chital Deer web page.