The CEO yarn

The NSW government is considering relaxing restrictions on hunting feral deer

The NSW government is considering giving all gun licence holders in the state the right to cull wild deer populations on private property in a bid to reduce herd numbers.

Under current rules, a game hunting licence is needed to shoot deer - with some exceptions.

NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall says there are "a number of options on the table to manage the state's increasing deer population, including removing the game status of deer".

Read more via SBS

Visit our PestSmart feral deer management toolkit

(Image by Peter Tremain)

It's no silver bullet, but carp virus can help save waterways

Early research indicates the carp herpes virus would have the desired impact and reduce populations of our most damaging pest fish.

That's according to the head of the National Carp Control Plan Jamie Allnut, who leads a $10 million investigation into the safety and feasibility of introducing the fatal virus.

In a situation similar to the release of the rabbit Myxomatosis virus, carp herpes virus could significantly knock down carp numbers in targeted stretches of waterway.

"The way we will present it to government is as
a window of opportunity for us to start on the journey to restore natural values. But it doesn't mean we will eradicate carp," Mr Allnut said. 

Read more via The Land 

Visit our PestSmart carp management toolkit

(Image by Peter West)

Cats in Australia: Companion and Killer

Across the world, cats are loved as pets or are kept or tolerated for their role in controlling some animal pests. But cats, both pets and feral, also kill many native animals and this toll can be enormous. Cats have been remarkably successful in Australia, spreading pervasively across the continent and many islands, occurring in all environments, and proving to be adept and adaptable hunters. A large proportion of Australia’s distinctive fauna is threatened and recent research highlights the significant role
that cats play in the decline and extinction of native species.

Cats in Australia brings this research together, documenting the extent to which cats have subverted, and are continuing to subvert, Australia’s biodiversity. But the book does
much more than spotlight the impacts of cats on Australian nature. It describes the origins of cats and their global spread, their long-standing and varying relationship with people, their global impacts and their ecology. It also seeks to describe the challenge of managing cats, and
the options available to constrain their impacts.

Find the book here

Technology lights way to pre-emptive weed strikes

A portable tool kit, with the power to identify the DNA of invasive weeds when they first appear
in the landscape, could soon transform weed management and land production.

Acknowledging that many landholders are not confident in absolutely identifying invasive weeds, Department of Primary Industries (DPI) scientists, David Gopurenko, Aisuo Wang and Hanwen Wu, have developed a field kit which uses LAMP technology to identify serrated tussock and Chilean needle grass in the field.

"The advantage of LAMP, the name given to loop-mediated isothermal amplification of DNA,
is that we can quickly and easily identify trace amounts of leaf tissue within an hour at a cost less than $10 per test," Dr Gopurenko said.

"Early detection is the key to managing serrated tussock and Chilean needle grass."

Read more via The Land

Political economics, collective action and wicked socio-ecological problems: A practice story from the field