Kangaroo Island free from feral pigs after successful eradication program

Australia is leading the world in the fight against feral pigs, as Kangaroo Island is officially declared completely free of the pest animal following a successful eradication program.

Kangaroo Island is the largest island anywhere in the world on which an established population of feral pigs has been eradicated, making this a globally significant achievement for environmental and agricultural management.

The eradication of feral pigs on Australia’s third largest island delivers much-needed protection for local native species and agricultural industries.

The Kangaroo Island Feral Pig Eradication Program has been backed by $7.5 million in funding from the Federal and State Governments, along with South Australia’s livestock industry.

For many years, KI has been heavily impacted by feral pigs, with the pest estimated to cost the island more than $1 million annually in economic and environmental impacts.

Feral pigs have been eradicated from dozens of islands worldwide, but KI is now the largest island anywhere in the world to have achieved this outcome.

Launched in 2020 in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires, the Kangaroo Island Feral Pig Eradication Program removed 878 feral pigs, with the last known sows removed in March 2024.

While the 2019/20 bushfires caused significant damage to the island’s environment, industries and civilian infrastructure, it also killed about 90 per cent of the feral pig population on Kangaroo Island – providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to eradicate a damaging pest species from the island.

In July 2024, the feral pig eradication program entered a two-year “proof of freedom” phase, which included an extensive and targeted surveillance program across high-risk areas. During this time, no detections or signs of feral pigs were recorded, which has provided a high degree of confidence that feral pigs are no longer present on the island.

The program was delivered in partnership with the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board, National Parks and Wildlife Service, AgKI, Livestock SA, Kangaroo Island farmers, landholders and other stakeholders.

Feral pigs are a significant agricultural and environmental pest. They prey on newborn lambs, damage crops and compete with livestock for pasture. They also destroy natural habitats, impact threatened species, spread weeds, damage infrastructure and carry parasites and diseases that pose a serious threat to livestock, wildlife and humans.

Feral pig populations can increase rapidly, with modelling indicating that even a minimal residual population on KI, for example, one male and one female present in March 2024, would have grown to between 30 and 100 individuals by May 2026.

The eradication program used a combination of thermal-assisted aerial culling, detector dogs, ground shooting and ground baiting. This was supported by forensic analysis of feral pig DNA in creeks and rivers, as well as a network of more than 500 monitoring cameras assisted by artificial intelligence.

The Kangaroo Island Feral Pig Eradication Program is now being recognised as a flagship example of best-practice invasive species management, with the skills, technology and lessons learned expected to help inform future pest eradication efforts across South Australia and beyond.