Parks Victoria has launched a conservation program to protect native wildlife and unique flora severely impacted by the 2019-2020 summer bushfires and now potentially threatened by feral animals.
Parks Victoria said that since June it had been running a feral animal control program using aerial shooting, as part of its biodiversity bushfire response.
“This is a continuation of the post-fire emergency aerial shooting operation which began in February 2020,” Parks Victoria said.
“To-date more than 2,000 feral animals have been removed from high biodiversity-value locations across eastern Victoria,” it said.
“Targeting feral animals at specific environmentally significant locations reduces damage to habitat and predator risk for vulnerable native species, giving them a greater chance of survival and recovery after the bushfires.”
Parks Victoria said aerial shooting was an appropriate, effective and humane method of control across large areas that were inaccessible due to fire damage.
“Only highly qualified pilots and shooters are used to deliver the operation,” it said.
“Though the program hasn’t yet concluded, there have been some promising results with one target animal removed every two minutes of flight time and helicopter crews reporting an increase in wallaby, kangaroo, wombat and native bird sightings within target areas.”
Parks Victoria said the program had been targeting pest predators (foxes and feral cats) and introduced herbivores (deer, goats, and feral pigs).
