November 19, 2025
Western Downs Regional Council has collaborated with the South Burnett Regional Council, the DPI and other agencies to investigate the link between feral pigs and the spread of the soil pathogen Phytophthora in the Bunya Mountains.
The “Bridging Knowledge Gaps in Soil Pathogen and Feral Pig Management in the Bunya Landscape” project resulted in the removal of 93 feral pigs from Council-managed lands within the Bunya Mountains.
A WDRC spokesperson said this had led to a significant reduction in environmental damage to areas such as the Russell Park Mountain Bike Trails.
Council’s rural services team also gathered valuable data to enhance Council’s approach to managing the threat of Phytophthora multivora, a plant pathogen which has been blamed for dieback in Bunya pines.
The project involved collaring and tracking of 19 feral pigs to gather behavioural insights, soil sampling, microbiome analysis as well as multispectral imaging to benchmark the progression of Bunya Pine dieback.
”By collaborating with the Queensland Feral Pest Initiative, Bunya People’s Aboriginal Corporation, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and South Burnett Regional Council, Council were able to build strong community partnerships for the undertaking of future biosecurity initiatives and awareness,” Cr Kylie Bourne said.
She said the WDRC was also exited to be partnering with Dalby State High School to build five new feral pig traps.
“The traps will be deployed to strategic locations which were identified by the behavioural data collected through this project,” Cr Bourne said.
“This project has been a milestone achievement in understanding the behaviour of feral pigs and its link to Bunya pine dieback.”
