GKP S6/E12 - Fire Ant Fiasco

The Red Fire Ant was first spotted in Brisbane, Queensland in 2001. Shortly after this a campaign of eradication and fear mind you, began.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries: Under the Biosecurity Act 2014, everyone, including individuals and organisations, has a general biosecurity obligation (GBO) to take all reasonable steps to prevent the spread of fire ants.

Queenslanders are legally required to report suspected sightings of fire ants within 24 hours of their discovery, and depending on the nests location take action to treat the pest. If you do not do this, penalties may apply.

The National Fire Ant Eradication Program aims to find, contain and destroy fire ants in South East Queensland. Their 10-year Eradication Plan involves … and i quote “an intensive and targeted eradication effort over South East Queensland, spanning from Lockyer Valley in the west to Redlands in the east, north to Moreton Bay and south to the Gold Coast”.

So why is this such a big deal? Part of this i believe stems from our history of introduced species wreaking havoc on our local environment and wildlife. Think the cane toad, rabbits and red foxes. Poor decisions were made in the past and there appears to be a stigma.

Enter the Red Fire Ant.

They do have a painful sting and can attack en mass if a nest is disturbed. Much like most ants we already have such as bull ants, meat ants and green ants.

Eradication of an ant species in my humble opinion isn’t possible. They’re far too resilient. Containment too is also is a fools errand.

So why is the Australian Government and Queensland State Government spending hundreds of millions of dollars, if not into the billions now, on trying to eradicate them?

What measures are being employed to take on this unwinnable challenge and are they too drastic?

Are those eradication measures themselves causing untold damage to sensitive ecosystems, domestic animals, livestock, even people?

Well for this episode I am joined by Simon Mulvany from BeeTheCure.com and SaveTheBeesAustralia on Instagram as well as Sarah McGuire, a local Queensland resident turned activist whose town of Samford is in the crosshairs of the National Fire Ant Eradication Program.

We aim to hopefully answer some of these questions and give us their testimonies and opinions on the Fire Ant Fiasco.