A record number of competitors did their bit to put a dent in the number of pigs around Weipa during the 2024 Western Cape Feral Animal Control event. Photo: Facebook.
Record numbers across the board were a highlight of this year’s Western Cape Feral Animal Control event in Weipa on 14 September.
In total, 166 pig and cat hunting competitors, 83 Toad Busters and 15 juniors took part in the annual event, with a whopping 442.53 kilograms of cane toads removed from the township’s amphibian army.
The biggest toad recorded weighed 488 grams and was caught by the Coleing Clan – Matilda and Quade Coleing, while the Toad Bounty Hunters – Olivia Emmett, Naveyah Nester and Harlen Nester – took runner-up honours with a 457g entry.
Over the target dates, 333 pigs and 65 feral cats were removed from the Cape York landscape.
Black and White – Remo Mazzacato, Blake Amory and Jaydon West-Busch – won the coveted biggest boar prize with their 92.65kg effort, while Nick Stock, Rod Wawrzniak, Martin Sheger, Will Stock and Blaine Wawrzniak took the silver with an 88kg pig.
The Ridgeback Bangers and Twangers – Ian and James Milne – bagged the biggest sow of the event with a 60.1kg entry, with Steve Clegg, Craig Argent and Brayden Argent’s Stakin’ Bacon line-up grabbing second spot on the podium with a 58.05kg porker.
In the tusk department, father-and-son duo Scott and Jack Barton bagged a pig with 85.5mm of prize-winning ivory, with Kodie, Courtney, Bonnie and Amelia Bailey’s 80mm tusk enough to take runner-up bragging rights.
The biggest feral cat of the event weighed in at 5.15kg and was taken by the Piggy Tails team of Rhys Parr, Damian Parr and Bri Lewis, with the Numb Skulls – Samantha Midgley and Dayne Stewart – the next best with a 5.1kg runner-up feline.
An event spokesperson thanked sponsors and competitors for making the 2024 edition a record breaker and said they were expecting next year’s hunt to be even bigger.
“Thank you to everyone that came and supported our local champions who are helping to make a difference on the Cape,” they said.
“We can’t do this without everyone’s involvement, so we’re looking forward to another record event in 2025.”
For a full list of results, check out the Western Cape Feral Animal Control Facebook page.
