CONCERNS have been raised about the prevalence of feral pigs within Golden Plains Shire, and some residents are seeking to find a solution.<\/p>\n
Durdidwarrah resident Beverley Phillips lives on 25 acres in the Shire\u2019s far east, on the edge of the Brisbane Ranges National Park and land managed by Barwon Water.<\/p>\n
With the support of Trust for Nature, she said she has worked for many years to preserve the indigenous plant species on her property, but the vegetation was destroyed within moments by a sounder of feral pigs that roam the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have sat for years on my front veranda, admiring the meadow of extraordinary wildflowers from spring through to autumn, which I have carefully weeded,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne night I returned home and saw all this heaped up soil. It had all been dug up by six pigs, eaten and ripped up down to bedrock.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are literally acres of it, both in my place and out in the national park; it\u2019s been hammered. Will the vegetation come back? I don\u2019t know. But it will never look the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I\u2019m not the only person with this problem. There are many more pigs. People in Steiglitz have had their paddocks ripped up as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Phillips said the pig problem isn\u2019t just threatening the health of the native ecosystem, but her \u201cwhole way of life,\u201d and the lives of others in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe damage is in my face from the moment I get up,\u201d she said. \u201cI walk out my door, and it\u2019s there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that I ever want to be standing in front of a boar without a gun, either. It\u2019s ruining people\u2019s livelihoods out in the farming land.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neighbour, Lynne Hillier, said the problem is terrifying the town.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like them all to be eradicated,\u201d Ms Hillier said. \u201cNot just lowering numbers, but getting rid of them, and it needs to be done responsibly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know they\u2019re a problem in the national park, that there\u2019s damage to the water levy, and that they\u2019re also a problem in Dereel.<\/p>\n
\u201cParks Victoria has been doing some deer eradication, but it\u2019s the pigs that are the problem. They\u2019re really dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Phillips would like to see all community stakeholders brought together to come up with a \u201cproper regional plan\u201d to solve the feral pig problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has to be an effort by all organisations in the region for everybody\u2019s good, not least the environment,\u201d she said. \u201cIt needs to be properly financed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Hillier said she encourages other Shire residents who are affected to speak up, and alert the municipality, in the hopes they can initially put their heads together at a grassroots level, and move to progress the issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CONCERNS have been raised about the prevalence of feral pigs within Golden Plains Shire, and some residents are seeking to find a solution. Durdidwarrah resident Beverley Phillips lives on 25 acres in the Shire\u2019s far east, on the edge of the Brisbane Ranges National Park and land managed by Barwon Water. With the support of […]<\/p>\n