News & Updates

Peel Harvey Biosecurity Group is delighted to invite industry professionals to a three-day course that will explore effective communication with the broader public.  Control and management of declared pests is becoming increasingly difficult and complex. Increasing urbanisation and decreasing acceptance of lethal control methods is putting pressure on public land managers to protect the community from the effects of declared pests, while reducing the options they have to do so.  The effects of declared pests are wide-ranging, affecting those who live in both urban and rural environments. Declared pest control is no longer solely the remit of rural communities - in fact, the majority of declared pest queries and reports received by PHBG come from urban and peri-urban areas.  Effective engagement with the members of the community allows firm, clear messages to be shared and understood despite the diverse concerns of landholders. Productive conversations about ethics and ani...

  From 16 October to 16 November 2025, Western Australians are invited to become citizen scientists during Biosecurity Blitz 2025 , an annual community campaign run by the Department of Primary Industries and Resource Development to spot unusual pests and protect our farms, environment and trade.  Now in its 10th year, the Blitz encourages people across WA, whether gardeners, landholders, students, or curious locals, to observe, learn, and report organisms in their backyards, bushland, paddocks or waterways. Participants can upload photos, geo-locations and descriptions of plants, animals, insects, aquatic pests or diseases through the MyPestGuide® Reporter app . Even “nothing to see” reports are valuable: confirming the absence of pests helps biosecurity experts get a clearer picture of where risks are (and aren’t).  Why we love the Biosecurity Blitz As the Recognised Biosecurity Group (RBG) for the Peel–Harvey region, Peel Harvey Biosecurity Group (PHBG) supports landh...

Western Australia faces a growing threat from feral pigs, and a free upcoming workshop will help landholders rein in this destructive and expensive pest.  Feral pigs cost Australia more than $100 million a year in animal predation and environmental damage across all kinds of landscapes. The animals aren’t just a rural problem. Their rooting and wallowing erode soil, pollute waterways, and damage riverbanks. An opportunistic omnivore, feral pigs will also hunt, kill and eat small or vulnerable animals, which only compounds the threat they pose to pets, livestock and landscapes through disease.  Local not-for-profit Peel Harvey Biosecurity Group (PHBG) is urging private landholders to take part in coordinated control efforts to help curb the population. The group is inviting landholders to a free workshop on October 16 that will cover best-practice control techniques and practical, on-ground management. “Pigs can breed prolifically, meaning that ad hoc shooting as a control meth...