The National Feral Pig Action Plan
Implementation Committee
Established in May 2021, the NFPAP Implementation Committee oversees the implementation of the National Feral Pig Action Plan 2021-2031. The committee members, including an independent Chair, were sought from our extensive, and diverse, stakeholder base. People with expertise in environmental / conservation management, agriculture, Indigenous engagement, and research and development (R&D) were sought to join the committee.
Members
Interim Independent Chair, NFPAP Implementation Committee
John has over 25 years of demonstrated experience in community based natural resource management (NRM) operating within Australia and the Solomon Islands. He is passionate about community empowerment and gets enjoyment and satisfaction from working with people through collaborative approaches to NRM. His experience working with Natural resource management organisations (both Statutory and independent not for profit) includes developing programs and policy managing invasive vertebrate species including feral pigs, through cross jurisdictional and multi-sector programs. He is also well recognised for his understanding of market approaches to incentivising land management outcomes, including emerging biodiversity markets. He has extensive networks in NRM related organisations across Australia and has developed a national understanding of land management issues and program delivery, though positions based in NSW, SA, Qld and the NT.
John is currently a Director of Remarkable NRM and has been a member of the National Feral pig Action Plan Implementation Committee for the past 2.5 years.
Chair, NFPAP Scientific Advisory Panel
Dr Justin Perry is the research manager for the Northern Australia Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance and is based in Townsville in Northern Queensland. Justin is seconded from CSIRO and is also a research affiliate with the ANU school of Cybernetics. He works on integrating ecological research with adaptive management of threats to Australia’s unique natural values with a focus on the management of feral animals (buffalo, cattle and pigs). More recently, Justin has been exploring the use of emerging technologies to overcome some of the inherent challenges faced by land managers in remote difficult to access areas.
Co-Chair, NFPAP Indigenous Advisory Panel
Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation
Government Representative
Shalan Scholfield is the Principle Director of the Environmental Biosecurity Office of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, with a focus on reducing the impact of exotic and established pests including deer through policy, programs and activities including developing new and improved control tools, technologies and enhancing skills and knowledge to improve management, containment and asset protection.
Industry Representative
Romy Carey has worked for for the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association for two years as the Executive Officer and recently Acting CEO. 49% of the Territory’s land area or 700,000sqkm is under pastoral stewardship, in her role as EO Romy assists producers with an array of issues including the management of feral animals.
Being born and raised in the Top End of the NT Romy is acutely aware of the damage and destruction caused by feral pigs on the environment and Agriculture and looks forward to working with the Implementation Committee.
Industry Representative
Richard is the General Manager of Pork Production at Westpork, Western Australia’s largest pork producer, where he has worked since 2009.
Richard is passionate about Australia’s biosecurity and has been involved with the Pig Biosecurity Consultative Group since 2006. He is also active in the development of WA Feral Pig Advisory Group which helps coordinate action groups in Western Australia as well as the Lake Muir Denbarker Community Feral Pig Eradication Group. He instigated a feral pig trapping program north of Perth engaging commercial piggeries and landowners in a partnership.
Richard is a Fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Program (ARLP), graduating in 2012. He has been an elected Delegate for the Industry’s National body – Australian Pork Ltd (APL) since 2007.
Outside of work, Richard enjoys being a committee member with the Perth Royal Show and finding ways to introduce the country to the city.
Originally from the UK, Richard has worked in the pig industry his entire life in the UK, Canada and Australia. He has two sons, both work in the pig industry, one in the UK and one in Australia.
NRM representative
Daniel Lewer has worked in vertebrate pest management for government and private landholders, specialising in feral pig control, for the last 22 years. Daniel established, and operates, a family owned contracting and consulting land management business, Hunter Land Management Pty Ltd, which employs more than 15 staff. Daniel is passionate about invasive species management and mitigating the damage that they cause to our unique Australian ecosystem and agricultural sectors. Daniel holds qualifications in Environmental Science from the University of Newcastle, a Diploma in Conservation and Land Management from Tocal Agricultural College and is a Certified Environmental Practitioner (www.cenvp.org.au) which recognises his commitment to ethical standards. Daniel brings practical knowledge of large-scale feral pig control in Australia as well as research and adoption of control technologies around the world to the NFPAP’s Implementation Committee.
Quentin has worked at the interfaces of pest animal science, policy and programs for over 25 years. Quentin is currently the Manager of pest animal policy and programs within NSW Department o Primary Industries. He has previously worked for the Federal Bureau of Rural Sciences (now part of ABARES), administering pest animal research funding programs and helping to develop national pest animal management guidelines. Quentin was the National Manager of the Australian Feral Camel Management Project which gave him a good understanding of large-scale cross-jurisdictional approaches to pest animal management using adaptive management approaches and a strong MERI framework.
RD&E representative
Darren Marshall is a specialist in engaging people in effective, coordinated pest animal control and landscape scale environmental management. He is completing a PhD.I, testing different engagement strategies, which use scientific research as a vehicle to motivate landholders to take collective action to address the feral pig issue in Australia. This study is part of a collaboration with the University of New England and Penn State University (USA).
Darren has also worked with Inglewood Shire Landcare, (the then) Queensland Department of Natural Resources, the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Australian Army. Darren’s interests lie in improving environmental management through working with land managers to tackle issues that can only be addressed at a landscape scale, particularly linking good research with on-ground outcomes.
Land manager representative
Observers
Observer
Margo joined APL on 1 August 2019. Prior to commencing with APL, Margo held positions with Cattle Council of Australia, CSIRO, University of NSW, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and QLD Local Government. She has extensive experience and networks across primary industries, regional Australia and research environments through these roles. Margo has extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, marketing, communications, business development, operations and resource management and is currently completing her MBA through the Australian Graduate School of Management, UNSW.
Program Management
National Feral Pig Management Coordinator
Prior to her appointment as National Feral Pig Management Coordinator, Dr. Channon was General Manager of Research & Innovation at Australian Pork Limited. Dr. Channon has a PhD and Masters in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Melbourne and previously served ten years as a Research Scientist in the Victorian Department of Primary Industries.
National Feral Pig Program Support Officer
Narelle comes to us with a strong background in invasive animals, with a PhD from Murdoch University investigating parasites in feral cats and black rats in WA and its offshore islands, including Christmas Island and Dirk Hartog. Some of her other research investigated parasites in urban red foxes and wild dogs. She also has a background in science communication and outreach, discussing risks invasive animals pose particularly disease transmission to the community.
Scientific
Advisory
Panel
Members
Chair
Dr Justin Perry is the research manager for the Northern Australia Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance and is based in Townsville in Northern Queensland. Justin is seconded from CSIRO and is also a research affiliate with the ANU school of Cybernetics. He works on integrating ecological research with adaptive management of threats to Australia’s unique natural values with a focus on the management of feral animals (buffalo, cattle and pigs). More recently, Justin has been exploring the use of emerging technologies to overcome some of the inherent challenges faced by land managers in remote difficult to access areas.
NSW DPI
Andrew is a Research Scientist with NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Vertebrate Pest Research Unit. His current research focuses on improving the management of feral pigs and other ungulates. He has been researching feral pig control in Australia for over 15 years.
Biosecurity Queensland
Matthew Gentle is a Principal Scientist at the Pest Animal Research Centre, Biosecurity Queensland. After undergraduate study at the University of Queensland, Matthew started his career at the New South Wales Vertebrate Pest Research Unit before completing his PhD with the University of Sydney. Since 2004 his work has continued with the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Matt has studied many aspects of feral pigs including abundance and population dynamics, damage, diet, and management practices.
DPIRD WA
Peter Adams is the Manager of the Analysis & Technical Team within the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Invasive Species and Environment Biosecurity Branch. Peter has been involved in applied research on vertebrate pests in Australia for more than two decades, with the aim of improving our understanding of their behaviour and impacts to inform and improve current conservation and pest management strategies. Since joining the Department in 2016, Peter has worked on facilitating coordinated and improved vertebrate pest management by community-led groups throughout WA. This involves the adoption of ‘best practice’ management and innovative technologies to improve control efficiency. His current research focus is on the development of automated analysis systems for thermal imagery to improve pest animal monitoring and surveillance.
CSIRO
Dr Jens G Froese is a Geographer and Landscape Ecologist with research expertise in biosecurity and biological invasions, data integration, spatial analysis, risk modelling and structured expert elicitation. His research has investigated the link between feral pig landscape ecology and implications for effective disease management. More broadly, his research interests are in developing methods and technologies that support adaptive management of invasive species, integrating monitoring data, analytics and decision tools to help pest managers determine what to do where and when. Jens is currently a Research Scientist and Team Leader in CSIRO Health & Biosecurity.
Curtin University
Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy (NAQS) at Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
Indigenous
Advisory
Panel
Members
Chair
Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation
Co-Chair
Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation
Upper Murrumbidgee
Normanby Land Management/Cape York Weeds and Ferals
Trackers Traps, Rockhampton
Gamilaroi/DAWE
Pormpuraaw Aboriginal Shire Council
Bulgul Rangers, Northern Land Council
Steering Group
The Steering Group represented a broad range of stakeholder groups and guided the development of the National Feral Pig Action Plan. The Action Plan was delivered to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment on 15 January 2021.
Members
Mr John Maher
Independent Chair
Dr Heather Channon
National Feral Pig Management Coordinator
Ms Margo Andrae
Australian Pork Ltd
Mr Ricky Archer
North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance
Dr Bruce Christie
DPI NSW Chair, Environment & Invasives Committee
Dr Glenn Edwards
NT DENR & Environment and Invasives Committee representative
Mr John Kargotich
WA Farmers Federation representative
Ms Josephine Laduzko
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
Mr Darren Marshall
NRM Regions Australia representative
Dr Leigh Nelson
Grains Research and Development Corporation
Mr David Palmer
Centre for Invasive Species Solutions
Dr Justin Perry
CSIRO
Ms Zena Ronnfeldt
AgForce Queensland representative
Mr Brent Finlay
Landholder representative
Mr Jason Wishart
Agriculture Victoria
Mr Cameron Allan
Meat and Livestock Australia
Mr Adam Dawes
Wool Producers Australia
Mr Andrew Sanger
Director of Invasive Plants and Animals, NSW DPI