LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE UP SKILLED IN LATEST FERAL PIG TECHNOLOGY

The Upper Barwon Landcare Network with the Conservation Ecology Centre (CEC) held are field demonstration at Gerangamete on the 23rd of March as part of the Pig and Deer Project delivered through the Australian Government’s Wild Otways Initiative.

This event was a chance to talk with community members and landholders about the great work that the Conservation Ecology Centre team – led by Tim Wilson, are doing in the Otways to assess the feral pig population and their impact. It was also an opportunity to teach landholders about the latest techniques in controlling feral pigs on their properties. This included the demonstration of the Hog Eye Remote Camera Trap system and the use of HOGGONE® Feral Pig Bait. The CEC team also spoke about the role that landholders can play in reporting Feral Pig activity in the Otways through the use of the Feral Scan mobile app reporting tool. Finally, Samantha Armstrong, the Victorian Feral Pig Coordinator with Agriculture Victoria, spoke about the ecology and impact of feral pigs, including their role in disease transmission in Victoria.

We extend our thanks to Andrea Montgomery from Upper Barwon Landcare Network and Tim Wilson from CEC for putting together an engaging session and Margaret Drake on whose property the event was held.

This project is supported by the Corangamite CMA, through funding from the Australian Government’s Environment Restoration Fund. This project will run until 2023.