The Fire Ants are proliferating.... not enough is being done

here is an update from the Invasive Species Council, and it's so concerning:

Dear Patricia,

I recently put out an urgent call about red fire ants spreading across the country.

We warned governments about these super pests. In the last three weeks, fire ants are surging. More outbreaks of fire ants have been found, including on Macleay Island, part of the Southern Moreton Bay Islands. A shocking 100 nests were found on Minjerribah, many more than previously thought. New nests have been found on the southern Gold Coast. 

What’s outrageous is that a dozen nests were also found in Morayfield, north of Brisbane. But due to the program cuts, eradication efforts aren’t happening on the northern front! It’s nonsensical and risks fire ants spreading to the Sunshine Coast and World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics. 

We need to up the ante before it’s too late. Our native animals and our lifestyles are worth much more than the cost of eradication. 

Please help by making an urgent donation today so that I can convince governments to boost funding now, stop the spread and eradicate these tiny killers:
DONATE NOW
We’re the only national environmental advocacy organisation working to stop this national disaster. That means your help today will make a big difference for nature.

Your kind donation will help to ramp up pressure on the federal treasurer, and the Victorian and Western Australian governments who are delaying action, have not committed to new funding and are hiding behind claims of bureaucratic red tape. 

If there wasn’t a fire ant eradication program, modelling shows they would have already reached Sydney by around 2020. We know this program will be successful and save nature, our pets and our lifestyles…but only if all governments chip in and fund the full eradication program.

You can read more information below from my previous email.

Thanks again for all that you do. Nature needs us now, more than ever. 

Warm regards,

Andrew

Dear Patricia,

It’s worse than I could have imagined. That’s why I had to reveal the secret government documents to the media on 7 August.

The program to eradicate red fire ants in Queensland has been recklessly cut in half due to a lack of funding. Yet outbreak after outbreak of fire ants signals we’re hurtling toward a point where we can’t stop a continent-wide spread. 

We have this one shot to prevent them from taking over the country. But the window is closing. I urgently need your help, Patricia, to hold governments to account to do their job. Together we must convince them to fund fire ant eradication while there’s still time.

Please donate today to stop these tiny killers and help save our wildlife, natural places and lifestyles:

A fire ant invasion is a nightmare that nobody wants yet they’re only 5km from the NSW border. To stop fire ants Australian governments need to be highly cooperative and collectively fund fire ant eradication to the tune of $200-$300 million per year, for 10 years.