❓ A WA parliamentary question seeks information on Department of Agriculture staffing levels and changes in declared plant and animal populations. The response details the impracticality of monthly monitoring for most species, citing cost and limited impact of control programs, while highlighting specific programs like Skeleton Weed and European Starling control.
AnsweredQoN 1949Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) How many employees (Full Time Equivalent) were employed with the Department of Agriculture as at the last day of last month?
(2) What declared animals and plants have increased in either number or distribution as at the last day of last month?
(2) What declared animals and plants have increased in either number or distribution as at the last day of last month?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
3 April 2007
Responded by
Minister representing the Minister for Agriculture and Food
Response time
14 days
2. It is not practical to determine whether there has been an increase or decrease in the number or distribution of most declared plant and animal species on a monthly basis. There is no formal monitoring system in place to measure short term changes in population or distribution of most established pests. The cost of implementing such a system would be prohibitive except on a very limited scale and would most likely monitor seasonal influences as much as the effect of any control programs. Some species are monitored through dedicated programs such as the Skeleton Weed Eradication Program which cost the State Government and Western Australian grain growers approximately $4 million in 2006/07. The monitoring that is done for skeleton weed each year indicates that the range of the weed is increasing while the actual area of infestation is slowly decreasing. Other pest species populations will be behaving in different ways depending on their current and potential distribution, levels of control being applied and environmental conditions. In the case of some other species which are under coordinated control programs there is clear evidence of lower numbers in areas where this control is being exercised however numbers in other areas may be increasing or decreasing. Most control programs are aimed at only controlling those pests that are having a significant impact on primary production, the environment, infrastructure or social amenity. In many cases only a small percentage of the total population of pest species such as rabbits, wild dogs and foxes will be subject to control programs. In the case of European starlings, where eradication is the aim of the program, the population is observed to be declining in the face of systematic and intense control operations which have resulted in the removal of over 600 birds since July 2006, however it is not possible to put exact figures on the numbers still present.
Some species are monitored through dedicated programs such as the Skeleton Weed Eradication Program which cost the State Government and Western Australian grain growers approximately $4 million in 2006/07. The monitoring that is done for skeleton weed each year indicates that the range of the weed is increasing while the actual area of infestation is slowly decreasing. Other pest species populations will be behaving in different ways depending on their current and potential distribution, levels of control being applied and environmental conditions. In the case of some other species which are under coordinated control programs there is clear evidence of lower numbers in areas where this control is being exercised however numbers in other areas may be increasing or decreasing. Most control programs are aimed at only controlling those pests that are having a significant impact on primary production, the environment, infrastructure or social amenity. In many cases only a small percentage of the total population of pest species such as rabbits, wild dogs and foxes will be subject to control programs. In the case of European starlings, where eradication is the aim of the program, the population is observed to be declining in the face of systematic and intense control operations which have resulted in the removal of over 600 birds since July 2006, however it is not possible to put exact figures on the numbers still present.
In the case of some other species which are under coordinated control programs there is clear evidence of lower numbers in areas where this control is being exercised however numbers in other areas may be increasing or decreasing. Most control programs are aimed at only controlling those pests that are having a significant impact on primary production, the environment, infrastructure or social amenity. In many cases only a small percentage of the total population of pest species such as rabbits, wild dogs and foxes will be subject to control programs. In the case of European starlings, where eradication is the aim of the program, the population is observed to be declining in the face of systematic and intense control operations which have resulted in the removal of over 600 birds since July 2006, however it is not possible to put exact figures on the numbers still present.
Some species are monitored through dedicated programs such as the Skeleton Weed Eradication Program which cost the State Government and Western Australian grain growers approximately $4 million in 2006/07. The monitoring that is done for skeleton weed each year indicates that the range of the weed is increasing while the actual area of infestation is slowly decreasing. Other pest species populations will be behaving in different ways depending on their current and potential distribution, levels of control being applied and environmental conditions. In the case of some other species which are under coordinated control programs there is clear evidence of lower numbers in areas where this control is being exercised however numbers in other areas may be increasing or decreasing. Most control programs are aimed at only controlling those pests that are having a significant impact on primary production, the environment, infrastructure or social amenity. In many cases only a small percentage of the total population of pest species such as rabbits, wild dogs and foxes will be subject to control programs. In the case of European starlings, where eradication is the aim of the program, the population is observed to be declining in the face of systematic and intense control operations which have resulted in the removal of over 600 birds since July 2006, however it is not possible to put exact figures on the numbers still present.
In the case of some other species which are under coordinated control programs there is clear evidence of lower numbers in areas where this control is being exercised however numbers in other areas may be increasing or decreasing. Most control programs are aimed at only controlling those pests that are having a significant impact on primary production, the environment, infrastructure or social amenity. In many cases only a small percentage of the total population of pest species such as rabbits, wild dogs and foxes will be subject to control programs. In the case of European starlings, where eradication is the aim of the program, the population is observed to be declining in the face of systematic and intense control operations which have resulted in the removal of over 600 birds since July 2006, however it is not possible to put exact figures on the numbers still present.
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