Cape York Natural Resource Management QFPI feral pig co-ordinator Brett Carlsson (second from left) catches up with his fellow co-ordinators, Minister for Primary Industries Tony Perrett and other key stakeholders at the 2025 National Feral Pig Conference. Photo: Supplied.
It may be more than 2,500 kilometres from western Cape York to the glitter strip of the Gold Coast, but that did not stop feral pig management in one of the remotest parts of the state getting a mention at a national conference last month.
Newly-appointed Cape York Natural Resource Management (NRM) feral pig co-ordinator Brett Carlsson joined colleagues and other key stakeholders from across Queensland for the 2025 National Feral Pig Conference from 24-26 March and said it provided him with a chance to take a “deep dive” into his new role.
He is one of five new co-ordinators funded by the State Government’s Queensland Feral Pest Initiative (QFPI), operating in areas from the desert and channel country to the Cape, who attended the conference.
Feral pigs are estimated to cost almost $100 million of production losses and direct control costs in Queensland alone each year.
Mr Carlsson said the conference provided insight into alternative methods for managing the pest species, especially in remote areas.
“This was an opportunity for stakeholders in feral pig management from across Australia to get together and hear from a range of experts on topics from on-the-ground management and current research projects,” he said.
“We heard about everything from understanding behaviour and impacts through to disease risk mitigation and community engagement and co-ordination; it was good to hear of things such as a focus on pest impacts, rather than numbers, and that there is a genuine shift in thinking and mindset across the pest management community in regards to this.
“Plus, the disease preparedness aspect, with threats from FMD (foot-and-mouth disease) and ASF (African swine fever) high on the government’s agenda.”
Mr Carlsson said before the conference commenced, the new co-ordinators held a full-day meeting to discuss their new roles and hear from several researchers, as well as Biosecurity Queensland.
“They discussed the co-ordinator role in detail and a plan for moving forward as a team,” he said.
“As the co-ordinator for the Cape York and Terrain NRM regions, my initial focus will be collecting data and information on current control efforts and research activities across both regions.
“We recognise the significant work already being done in feral pig management, and as co-ordinators, our role is to enhance program co-ordination, identify gaps, establish targeted working groups where needed, and also boost participation through community-led initiatives.
“Our ultimate goal is to improve landscape-scale feral pig control, ensuring programs deliver maximum impact for the effort invested.”
