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Community-led Responses to Invasive Animals Factsheet
What is community led action
The term community led action describes
action that is initiated and implemented by a
community in response to an issue(s) of a
local concern. This is in contrast to more
“traditional” forms of government-driven
community engagement, whereby authorities
‘inform’, ‘consult’ and ‘involve’ communities
in local decision making. Instead, the
emphasis of community led action is on
community empowerment. The role of the
government authorities (Local, State or
Federal) under a model of community led
action shifts from provider and carer to that
of an enabler; responding to, and supporting
local action (Eardley and Vincent 2011).
government-based strategy.
In other
instances it may refer to actions taken by
individuals to control invasive animals on their
property with the support of government
bodies. This can include baiting, trapping,
shooting or reporting of incidents of invasive
animals. In many areas in Australia, for
example, baiting programs are coordinated by
the local government but with baits laid by
land-owners. This is partly because the toxins
used are often highly controlled substances,
unavailable to citizens. Hence, action is
carried out by and within the community, but
it is usually part of a centralised government
program.
Community-based action on
invasive animals
There is limited literature on community-led
responses to invasive animals, and it has been
noted that the citizen perspective has often
been left out of invasive animal management
(Martin, Low Choy, LeGal, & Lingard, 2016).
More recently, however, there has been
increasing recognition of the importance of
people in the invasive animal issue (Fisher,
Lee, & Cribb, 2012; Woodburn, Lambert, &
Clarke, 2013), especially as landscapes
become more fragmented and diverse, such
as in peri-urban areas (Davis & Carter, 2014;
Epanchin-Niell et al., 2010). It is clear that
much
invasive
animal
(and
plant)
management relies on communities, often
through volunteer community groups or
individuals.
In many cases, the term community-based
action is used to describe ‘on the ground’
action of landholders or other community
members, who are acting as part of a
Alternatively,
individual
landholders, or
small groups of
landholders, may
employ
professional
shooters or
trappers to try
and remove
invasive animals.
Image: Sporting Shooters’
Association of Australia are
helping farmers control
invasive animals on their
properties (ssaa.org.au)
Such approaches
are more effective
if
neighbouring
land-holders work together, due to the mobile
nature of invasive animals. However, some
landholders
may
benefit
from
the
management without becoming involved. If
land adjoins national parks or other protected
areas, then there may be the need for
government involvement to create a
coordinated response, especially if eradication
is the aim. More recently the business and
recreational opportunities of invasive species
management
are
being
harnessed.
Organisations are working with landholders to
allow recreational shooters on to their land,
for example to shoot deer.
Community-led action on invasive
animals
Community-led action implies a greater level
of participation by the community than
individuals taking action or being involved in
government programs. Instead, it is
characterised by the community being
empowered to take collective action. There
are only a few examples of community-led
action on invasive animals
One example of community-based action that
was not directed at a government level was
the response to cane toads in Western
Australia (Peacock, 2007). Two separate
community groups organised a community
response in the form of a fence and a
community muster specifically aimed at killing
cane toads. Although the effect of these
efforts on the cane toad is uncertain, the
benefits of engaging the community have
been widely recognised (Peacock, 2007).
In another example, a community group
coordinated and organised a trapping
program to catch foxes in their local area in
response to their predation of small
mammals. In following years, the program
was expanded to include shooting and baiting
in adjoining farmlands and Parks. The ongoing
fox control program now includes a
combination of soft jaw trapping, shooting,
baiting, cage trapping and a community fox
watch to report fox sightings.
Importantly, community-led action does not
have to be about eradication. Monitoring and
reporting programs or education campaigns
can be just as important in the management
of invasive animals.
There is little evidence of community-led
action on invasive animals in the academic
literature. This is not to say it does not occur,
simply that it is not widely reported and
certainly not widely studied.
References
Davis, D., & Carter, J. (2014). Finding common
ground in weed management: Peri-urban
farming, environmental and lifestyle values
and practices in southeast Queensland,
Australia. Geographical Journal, 180(4), 342–
352. http://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12034
Epanchin-Niell, R., Hufford, M. B., Aslan, C. E.,
Sexton, J. P., Port, J. D., & Waring, T. M.
(2010). Controlling invasive species in
complex social landscapes. Frontiers in
Ecology and the Environment, 8(4), 210–216.
http://doi.org/10.1890/090029; M3: doi:
10.1890/090029; 19\r10.1890/090029
Fisher, N., Lee, A., & Cribb, J. (2012). Will the
community accept our science? Monitoring
the community’s view about managing pest
animals in Australia. Canberra: Invasive
Animals Cooperative Research Centre.
Friends of Venus Bay Peninsula. (2016).
Environmental Projects 2006-16. Retrieved
October 6, 2016, from
http://www.friendsofvenusbaypeninsula.org
.au/projects.html
Martin, P., Low Choy, D., LeGal, E., & Lingard, K.
(2016). Effective citizen action on invasive
species: The institutional challenge.
Canberra: Invasive Animals Cooperative
Research Centre. Retrieved from
http://www.pestsmart.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2016/05/DiscussionPaper_I
nstitutionalChallenge.pdf
Peacock, T. (2007). Community on-ground cane
toad control in the Kimberley. Canberra:
Invasive Animals Cooperative Research
Centre. Retrieved from
http://www.feral.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2010/03/Peacock_Commu
nity-toad-control-report_lr.pdf
Woodburn, V., Lambert, J., & Clarke, M. (2013).
Australian Pest Animal Strategy Evaluation.
Community Solutions.
For comments and/or questions, please
contact:
Professor Darryl Low Choy
Professor of Environmental & Landscape
Planning
Griffith University, Brisbane
Telephone: 07 3735 7496
[email protected]
Dr Edward Morgan
Research Fellow
Cities research Institute
Griffith University, Brisbane
Telephone: 07 3735 9248
[email protected]
Ms Pazit Taygfeld
Senior Research Assistant
Cities Research Institute
Griffith University, Brisbane
Telephone: 07 3735 5424
[email protected].