The South Burnett Regional Council has established a Pest Advisory Committee to work with Council and community groups after an approach by local residents.
“There were three of us who approached the Council to start this advisory committee,” land owner Ray Patroni said.
“We approached Councillor Kathy Duff and Denise Whyte, the co-ordinator for Natural Resource Management, to see if a Pest Advisory Committee was feasible.
“We also had meetings with AgForce to see what had worked in the past and they also advised us to setup an advisory committee.
“AgForce have some very good programs in other areas with producers becoming involved in setting up groups that can take back information to the relevant authorities to make it easier to control feral animals and pests.”
Cr Kathy Duff said Council was extremely supportive of the establishment of the Pest Advisory Committee.
“I would encourage anyone interested in being involved with the committee to contact Ray Patroni,” she said.
“For an advisory committee to be successful we need people who are passionate about pests and control. We are looking for people from across the South Burnett to ensure diversity and feedback from across the whole of the region.”
Mr Patroni said the committee wanted more people to become involved with baiting programs and be more aware of the impacts of feral animals and pests.
“The immediate issue the committee will look at will be the feral animals but we will also look at pest management,” he said.
“We want this organisation to have open lines of communication between Council, other organisations and the advisory committee.”
Landholders interested in representing their area have been invited to contact Mr Patroni on (07) 4163-5180 or 0408-717-931.
