MEMBER for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan welcomes the recent NSW Coalition commitment to fund a $300 million biosecurity and control program for the co-ordination and management of feral animals, including a feral pig-targeted bounty scheme.

Mr Moylan said these measures are aimed squarely to protect our critical primary industries sector and conserve our environment.

“Agriculture contributes approximately $25.5 billion per year to the NSW economy, making this sector one of NSW’s most productive and important industries, yet farmers face a system weighed down by excessive regulation, rising costs, and decisions made far from regional communities,” Mr Moylan said.

“Invasive species and biosecurity threats have become commonplace under Chris Minns and Labor, and feral pigs have a major impact on the farming sector, eating new-born lambs, damaging water sources, fences and pasture, and raiding agricultural crops.

“We are all thoroughly sick of reviews, reports and roundtables that end up gathering dust on Minister Moriarty’s shelf on Macquarie Street.

Motion-activated trail cameras capture a small percentage of the wider feral pig infestation across farming areas in New South Wales.

“The time for talking has passed, it’s time to act, and that’s what we plan to do,” Mr Moylan said.

The Coalition’s plan includes an improved on-ground action and local coordination across all tenures with more boots on the ground; shift to five-year funding for pest animal control programs, in line with the Natural Resources Commission’s recommendation; increased funding for control programs, meaning more pigs are killed; more and better traps; trial of a targeted bounty scheme for feral pigs; aerial shooting over more country for longer periods; thermal imaging and drone technology to detect and track pigs; exclusion fencing to protect environmental and agricultural assets; support for baiting shooting and trapping programs; increased legal requirements for public land managers to manage pest animals; more targeted research for biological and other novel controls; and stablishing permanent regional rapid response teams to target outbreaks before populations expand.