Feral pig control funding across the state will grow by $8 million as numbers boom beyond control. 

Last year’s control program from Local Land Services saw almost 100,000 feral pigs culled across the state, yet it had little impact on the exploding populations that are destroying land and habitats. 

In the newly released 12 month program, $13 million will be spent on feral pig populations, focusing on aerial and ground control activities, building landholder control capacity, and establishing a NSW State Feral Pig Coordinator. 

"The impact of pest animals, particularly feral pigs is enormous, whether it’s damaging native flora and fauna and attacking native species or destroying pasture, crops and fences,” said Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty.



While little information has been announced about the NSW State Feral Pig Coordinator role, it follows the creation of a similar role on a national level that was created in 2020. 

On the ground, landholders are boring the brunt of the damage, costing an estimated $14 million per annum across wool, sheep and crop loss in NSW. 

While the additional funding will go a long way in feral pig control, NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said that so far there has only been a small dent in the population. 

“Aerial shooting over the past year saw 80 per cent more pigs culled than the year before, and authorities have distributed 74 tonnes of baits to landholders, but the numbers continue to grow particularly on public land,” Mr Martin said. 

Finding a new way forward

As damage grows across the state, the idea of a bounty for pigs has become popular, much like Victoria’s fox and wild dog bounty. 

Recently continued for another year, Agriculture Victoria Biosecurity Manager Jason Wishart said that over a million fox scalps have been collected since the program was launched in 2011. 

“The bounty offers incentive for community participation in fox and wild dog management, but other techniques also are important to effectively manage the damage they cause,” Mr Wishart said. 

Councils in Queensland have also independently introduced a bounty program for feral pigs, offering around the mark of $10 per pig. 

While there are no pig bounties in NSW and no discussion of them in the new 12 month program, a decreasing payday at the chillers leaves little incentive for professional shooters. 

“(Pigs) have dropped back to 85 cents a kilo. That’s at a price where I deem to be not worth my time,” said Gulargambone professional harvester Ben Robson.

Under the Biosecurity Act 2015, all landholders have a responsibility to manage pest animals on their land.  

"On top of aerial shooting operations, this new program will also deliver practical training for landholders to help control feral pigs on their properties and provide subsided feral pig bait, to promote an integrated approach to control,” said Ms Moriarty. 

"We all have a role to play in tackling the threat of biosecurity in this state, so the more landholders we have taking part in coordinated control programs, the more effective they are," she said.