ANIMALS

1. Feral Goats

Goats arrived with the first settlers who used them for milk and meat and it was only a matter of time before some escaped and established themselves in pastoral areas. Feral goats are now declared animals for the whole of WA. There are goats throughout the Murchison LCDC district.

The ability of goats to adapt and utilise the vegetation of the arid shrublands can have a serious effect on the vegetative cover and the balance of plant species. They generally prefer shrubs to grasses and herbage, and graze destructively, sometimes completely stripping the leaves and bark by standing on their hind legs. Overgrazing, combined with disturbance by their sharp hooves, may also lead to massive soil erosion. Females are able to breed twice a year, beginning at 6 months old, and often have twins. Goats have no respect for normal sheep or cattle fencing and so have been able to graze preferentially in favoured areas, one of these being the Murchison River frontage. Goats are susceptible to several exotic livestock diseases and would undoubtedly act as a reservoir of infection if these diseases ever reached Australia.

Pastoralists wanting to breed or hold feral goats must adhere to strict guidelines and are subject to stringent fencing requirements. Ideally, the only goats in the Murchison LCDC area will be those domesticated under these guidelines, with the feral population eradicated. Feral goats are mustered, or caught in trap yards, and then sold, mainly to overseas markets. Commercialisation appears to be the best method of control.

Click on the images below for a larger version of the feral goat brochure.

2. Rabbits

Rabbits have adapted to the rangelands but there are only isolated populations in favourable areas. Generally these populations are stable and controlled by dry seasons and so do not cause problems. In specific small areas they may compete for available feed. Control of rabbits has generally been left to nature.

3. Dingoes

Dingoes have not been a problem in the Murchison area until recently. As more stations further north change from sheep to cattle, less trapping has occurred and the dingoes have moved further south. Dingoes eat kangaroos and other small native animals as well as insects and carrion. They also attack sheep, often killing many more than they eat.

Dingoes breed once a year with pups being born between June and August. They live in well defined home ranges in groups of two to ten but members of the group are seldom seen together. The range may be 80 sq.km. depending on the terrain and abundance of prey. Dingoes sometimes hunt individually but may co-operate when chasing prey. Pastoralists are responsible for dingo control on their own properties. Techniques include trapping, shooting and baiting with 1080 fresh meat baits.

Click on the images below for a larger version of the dingo brochure.

4. Feral Donkeys

Donkeys were used in the early days of settlement in the area as pack animals and donkey trains were used to cart wool. As the motor vehicle took over the donkeys were released. There are few breeding mobs of donkeys in the Murchison area but those here compete for feed and are aggressive to domestic stock at watering points, denying them access to water. Shooting is the main control method but as donkeys feed at night, it is not easy to eradicate them.

5. Foxes and cats

Foxes are widespread throughout the Murchison district. They live on insects, reptiles, small mammals and carrion. A regular baiting program is carried out in order to protect small native animals.

Feral cats are also widespread and hunt native birds, mainly at watering points where they will lie in wait under the trough. They are also a threat to small native animals. Control is difficult but they are shot when possible.

PLANTS

1. Saffron Thistle (Carthamus lanatus)

Saffron thistle was introduced to Western Australia last century from the Mediterranean region. It now occurs throughout the southern rangelands though, as yet, it is not widespread. It competes with other annual herbage and has stiff, spiny leaves which discourage grazing and contaminate wool. It usually germinates in winter forming a flat rosette. In spring a tall stem grows up to 1m with single yellow compound flowers surrounded by lance-like spines. It only reproduces from seed which may remain dormant for up to eight years. Control in pastoral areas is the responsibility of the landholder and consists of grubbing out immature plants or spraying. The Murchison LCDC has had signs made up for landholders to put at outbreaks to encourage on-going vigilance.

2. Mesquite (Prosopis sp.) and Parkinsonia

Mesquite and Parkonsonia are serious weeds in the northwest pastoral areas. In the Murchison they are a problem along some stretches of the Murchison River where they have the potential to form dense thickets competing with native vegetation and blocking access to watering places. They are natives of USA and were brought to Australia in the 1920s for shade and ornamental purposes and because of their drought tolerance.

The trees can grow to 15 m and have sharp spines up to 10 cm long. Seeds of both Mesquite and Parkinsonia remain viable for many years and are spread by flood waters. Landholders use their own methods of control by digging out, ringbarking or spraying but it is a constant battle to keep up with new outbreaks especially as they grow in the inaccessible areas along the river.

3. Walkaway Burr (Cenchrus echinatus)

Also known as Spiny Burr Grass or Mosman River Grass, this grass has very prickly burrs which have the potential to contaminate wool. It is common around the Murchison Settlement where it must have first come in horse feed brought from elsewhere. It is spread easily as the burrs stick to clothing, tyres and animals. The Shire of Murchison sprays outbreaks around the Settlement.

4. Mexican Poppy (Argemone ochroleuca)

Originally from Mexico this annual weed is widely distributed throughout the Murchison, mainly along creek and river systems where it grows in the sand. It is poisonous to stock but not readily eaten due to its bitter sap. It can grow to 1m with silvery green leaves up to 20 cm long, creamy yellow flowers with four petals and a prickly seed capsule containing up to 400 seeds. There is little control of this weed.