Poison meat baits approved for use on NSW feral pigs

PHOTO: Huge feral pest pig was found on an outback property 175 kilometres north of Broken Hill in far west New South Wales. (Image: Paul Manion)

New South Wales pastoralists who are trying to reduce booming feral pig numbers on their properties could soon get some extra help.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has issued a permit for 1080 poison meat baits to be used on selected rangeland properties in the state.

This is the first time the authority will permit sodium fluoroacetate or 1080, to be used for feral pig control in NSW.

Western Local Land Services will run the trial, which will begin in March this year and continue until June 2016.

NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, said the trial aimed to reduce the devastating impact pest pigs have on primary production.

"It's great to have that authority given to Local Land Services by the APVMA," she said.

"Feral pigs are such dreadful creatures. The farmers will tell anybody that they destroy pastures, sensors and are particularly bad for newborn lambs.

"Local Land Services will be working with landowners to make sure they're getting the best areas covered.

"They're going to be using sensor-controlled cameras to see how effective the take up is of the baits and they'll follow up with trapping, shooting and other control methods."

Ms Hodgkinson said the baits have already been used successfully for wild dog eradication.

She said efforts would be made to ensure minimal impact on non-target species.

"We want to make sure we don't impact the environment," she said.

"When you're using meat baits you'll inevitably get some native animals in there too, but I think overall the net positive is going to be very much for us using 1080 meat baits for this feral pig trial."

Source: ABC

New molecules to burst malaria's bubble

Dr Natalie Spillman. Credit: Alex Maier

Scientists have released details of a raft of new chemicals with potent anti-malarial properties which could open the way to new drugs to fight the disease.

A new paper in PNAS is the third published recently by a group at the Australian National University (ANU). The group has collaborated with scientists from around the globe to uncover potential ammunition in the fight against malaria.

Over 200 million people contract malaria each year, and the parasite that causes the disease has become resistant to most of the drugs currently available.

"The series of papers shows that the malaria parasite has a real Achilles heel, and describe a range of new ways to attack it," said Professor Kiaran Kirk, Dean of the College of Medicine, 
Biology and Environment and one of the scientists involved in the project.

Dr Natalie Spillman, from the Research School of Biology at ANU studied the mechanism by which the parasites are killed.

"The new molecules block a molecular salt pump at the surface of the parasite, causing it to fill up with salt," Dr Spillman said

"This has the effect of drawing water into the parasite, causing it to swell uncontrollably and burst."

Although the process of developing the new compounds into clinical drugs is complex and lengthy, Professor Kirk is optimistic the findings will lead to new treatments.

"It's very early days, but these pump-blocking compounds have some of the most promising anti-malarial potential we've seen," he says.

Aspects of the work were carried out with groups at Griffith University, Monash University and the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin.

"This is a good example of a long-term, international drug development program in which Australian groups have played a key role," he said.

Source: Australian National University