Finding Success with HOGGONE Feral Pig Bait

30 Sep 2021

To assist North Coast Local Land Services (NCLLS) has been working with landholders to reduce feral pig numbers by using a newly released bait product HOGGONE® in baiting stations explicitly designed to target pigs.

NCLSS Senior Biosecurity Officer David Brill said the results using HOGGONE on the North Coast have been impressive.

“One property has collected over 120 feral pig carcasses as a result of the baiting program, and we've seen zero non-target kills.” Mr Brill said.

"Feral pigs have a huge impact on crops and pastures, and they also prey on livestock. For example, we recently had a report of a calf killed by a boar near Mallanganee."

"They're involved in disease transmission including foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, and can also spread leptospirosis, which can cause abortions and stillbirths in cattle."

The active ingredient in HOGGONE is sodium nitrite, a common food preservative used in low levels. Humans and other animals can safely consume sodium nitrite because of a naturally occurring enzyme. However, pigs are uniquely vulnerable due to their low level of the same enzyme.

When pigs eat a dose of sodium nitrite they can no longer transport oxygen to the brain, killing them quickly. Other animals' lack of vulnerability to sodium nitrite and the bait stations' design means this significantly reduces the likelihood of them becoming non-targets. Sodium nitrite also breaks down rapidly in the environment, leaving no toxic residues.

One of the landholders involved in the program, Mrs Mary Pursey, said working in conjunction with NCLLS had made the process simple to achieve outstanding results on their property in a brief timeframe.

"We have been participating in the HOGGONE pig control program for a few months now. North Coast Local Land Services provide the baits and bait stations and ongoing assistance with surveillance,” said Mrs Pursey.

“Regular, direct communication with Local Land Services staff, their guidance, strategies and knowledge are key to the ongoing success of the program on our property."

If feral pigs are on your property and you would like assistance to control them, please call 1300 795 299.

Fast Facts about Feral Pig Control

• Controlling feral pigs is challenging because they are prolific breeders, producing two litters of four to 10 piglets a year in good conditions.
• While exact figures are unknown, it is estimated there are 23 million feral pigs in Australia, costing the agricultural industry upwards of $100 million a year.
• The Federal Department of Agriculture has funded a National Feral Pig Action Plan, which it anticipates delivering in September. This initiative between state, federal and local governments, national resource management, private landholders and industry groups.

ENDS

Media contact: Mindy Greenwood, North Coast Local Land Services, M: 0405 352 320

Photo Caption:

• Pigs feeding from the bait station (North Coast Local Land Services Supplied)

• Senior Biosecurity Officer David Brill placing HogGone trays into a bait box. (North Coast Local Land Services Supplied)